Qualcomm Snapdragon
Predecessor | Scorpion processors |
---|---|
Founded | November 2007 |
Products |
Snapdragon 200, 400, 600 and 800 series X series stand-alone modems |
Owner | Qualcomm |
Website | www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon |
Snapdragon is a suite of system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductor products designed and marketed by Qualcomm for mobile devices. The Snapdragon central processing unit (CPU) uses the ARM RISC instruction set, and a single SoC may include multiple CPU cores, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a wireless modem, and other software and hardware to support a smartphone's global positioning system (GPS), camera, gesture recognition and video. Snapdragon semiconductors are embedded in devices of various systems, including Google Android and Windows Phone devices.[1] They are also used for netbooks, in cars, wearable devices and other devices.
The first Snapdragon product to be made available to consumer device manufacturers was the QSD8250, which was released in November 2007. It included the first 1 GHz processor for mobile phones. Qualcomm introduced its "Krait" microprocessor architecture in the second generation of Snapdragon SoCs in 2011, allowing each processor core to adjust its speed based on the device's needs. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, Qualcomm introduced the first of the Snapdragon 800 series and renamed prior models as the 200, 400 and 600 series. Several new iterations have been introduced since, such as the Snapdragon 805, 810, 615 and 410. Qualcomm re-branded its modem products under the Snapdragon name in December 2014.
History
Pre-release
Qualcomm announced it was developing the Scorpion central processing unit (CPU) in November 2005.[2][3] The Snapdragon system on chip (SoC) was announced in November 2006 and included the Scorpion processor, as well as other semiconductors.[3][4] This also included Qualcomm's first custom Hexagon digital signal processor (DSP).[5]
According to a Qualcomm spokesperson, it was named Snapdragon, because "Snap and Dragon sounded fast and fierce."[6] The following month, Qualcomm acquired Airgo Networks for an undisclosed amount; it said Airgo's 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n Wi-Fi technology would be integrated with the Snapdragon product suite.[7][8] Early versions of Scorpion had a processor core design similar to the Cortex-A8.[3]
Early Snapdragon products
The first Snapdragon shipments were of the QSD8250 in November 2007.[9] According to CNET, Snapdragon's "claim to fame" was having the first 1 GHz mobile phone processor.[9][10] Most smartphones at the time were using 500 MHz processors.[9] The first generation of Snapdragon products supported a 720p resolution, 3D graphics and a 12-megapixel camera.[9][11] By November 2008, 15 device manufacturers decided to embed Snapdragon semiconductors in their consumer electronics products.[12][13]
In November 2008, Qualcomm announced it would also compete against Intel in the netbook processor market with dual-core Snapdragon system-on-chips planned for late 2009.[14] It demonstrated a Snapdragon processor that consumed less power than Intel chips announced around the same time and claimed it would also cost less when released.[15][16][17] That same month, Qualcomm introduced a Snapdragon-based protoytpe netbook called Kayak that used 1.5 GHz processors and was intended for developing markets.[13][14][18]
In May 2009, Java SE was ported and optimized for Snapdragon.[19] At the November 2009 Computex Taipei show, Qualcomm announced the QSD8650A addition to the Snapdragon product suite, which was based on 45 nanometer manufacturing processes. It featured a 1.2 GHz processor and had lower power consumption than prior models.[20][21]
Adoption
By late 2009, smartphone manufacturers announced they would be using Snapdragon semiconductors in the Acer Liquid Metal, HTC HD2, Toshiba TG01 and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.[10][22][23] Lenovo announced the first netbook product using Snapdragon SoCs that December.[24] According to PC World, mobile devices using Snapdragon had better battery life and were smaller in size than those using other SoCs.[25]
By June 2010, Snapdragon chips were embedded in 20 available consumer devices and incorporated into 120 product designs in development.[26] Apple had a dominant market position for smartphones at the time and did not incorporate Snapdragon into any of its products. The success of Snapdragon therefore relied on competing Android phones, such as Google's Nexus One and the HTC Incredible, challenging Apple's market position.[26] Android devices did end up taking market share from the iPhone and predominantly used Snapdragon.[27][28][29] As of July 2014, the market share of Android phones had grown to 84.6 percent.[30]
There was an "unconfirmed but widely circulated report" speculating that Apple was going to start using Snapdragon SoCs in Verizon-based iPhones.[27] As of 2012, Apple was still using their own semiconductor designs.[31] Support for desktop Windows operating systems was added to Snapdragon in October 2010.[28] By 2011 Snapdragon was embedded in Hewlett Packard's WebOS devices[32] and had a 50% market share of a $7.9 billion smartphone processor market.[33] By 2015, Snapdragon was used in most non-Apple smartphones.[34][35]
Snapdragon chips are also used in most Android-based smartwatches,[36] Snapdragon products have also been used in virtual reality products, in vehicles like the Maserati Quattroporte and Cadillac XTS and in other applications.[37]
Later models
In June 2010, Qualcomm began sampling the third generation of Snapdragon products; two dual-core 1.2 GHz system on chips (SoC) called the Mobile Station Modem (MSM) 8260 and 8660.[38] The 8260 was for GSM, UMTS and HSPA+ networks, while the 8660 was for CDMA2000 and EVDO networks.[39] That November Qualcomm announced the MSM8960[40][41] for LTE networks.[39]
In early 2011, Qualcomm announced a new processor architecture called Krait,[42] which used the ARM v7 instruction set, but was based on Qualcomm's own processor design. The processors were called S4 and had a feature named Asynchronous Symmetrical Multi-Processing (aSMP), meaning each processor core adjusted its clock speed and voltage based on the device's activity in order to optimize battery usage.[43] Prior models were renamed to S1, S2 and S3 to distinguish each generation.[44]
The S4-based generation of Snapdragon SoCs began shipping to product manufacturers with the MSM8960 in February 2012.[45] In benchmark tests by Anandtech, the MSM8960 had better performance than any other processor tested. In an overall system benchmark, the 8960 obtained a score of 907, compared to 528 and 658 for the Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound respectively.[46] In a Quadrant benchmark test, which assesses raw processing power, a dual-core Krait processor had a score of 4,952, whereas the quad-core Tegra 3 was just under 4,000.[47] The quad-core version, APQ8064, was made available in July 2012. It was the first Snapdragon SoC to use Qualcomm's Adreno 320 graphics processing unit (GPU).[48]
Recent developments
Adoption of Snapdragon contributed to Qualcomm's transition from a wireless modem company to one that also produces a wider range of hardware and software for mobile devices.[49] In July 2011 Qualcomm acquired GestureTek in order to incorporate its gesture recognition intellectual property into Snapdragon SoCs.[50] In mid-2012 Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon software development kit (SDK) for Android devices at the Uplinq developer conference.[51] The SDK includes tools for facial recognition, gesture recognition, noise cancellation and audio recording.[51] That November Qualcomm acquired some assets from EPOS Development in order to integrate its stylus and gesture recognition technology into Snapdragon products.[52] It also collaborated with Microsoft to optimize Windows Phone 8 for Snapdragon semiconductors.[53]
Description and current models
Snapdragon system on chip products typically include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a global positioning system (GPS) and a cellular modem integrated into a single circuit board.[54] It has software included that operates graphics, video and picture-taking.[55] There are 14 different Snapdragon products under the 200, 400, 600 and the 800 series spanning from low to high-end respectively.[56] Some of their components include the Adreno graphics processing, the Qualcomm Hexagon DSP and processors using Qualcomm's S4 processor architecture. In addition to smartphones, the 400 series is used in smart watches[57] and the 602A is intended for electronics in cars.[58]
The current Snapdragon naming schema was implemented after the Snapdragon 800 family was announced at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show; prior models were renamed to the 200, 400 or 600 series.[59][60] The 400 family is entry-level, the 600 is mass-market or mid-range, and 800 family is for high-end phones.[61]
The entry-level 200 series was expanded with six new processors using 28 nanometer manufacturing and dual or quad-core options in June 2013.[62] The Snapdragon 805 was released that November.[63] The 410, which is intended for low-cost phones in developing nations, was announced the following month.[64] In January 2014, Qualcomm introduced a modified version of the Snapdragon 600 called 602A[58] that is intended for in-car infotainment screens, backup cameras, and other driver assistance products.[65] The quad-core Snapdragon 610 and eight-core 615 were announced in February 2014.[66] The Snapdragon 808 and 810 were announced in April 2014.[67] As of July 2014, the 810 contained the fastest processor in the Snapdragon line.[68]
The entry-level Snapdragon 210, intended for low-cost phones, was announced in September 2014.[69] In February 2015, Qualcomm re-branded its stand-alone modem products under the Snapdragon name; they were distinguished from SoCs using the "x" designation, such as the X7 or X12 modem.[61]
According to CNET, these phones were growing in US market share and ranked highly in CNET reviews due to their responsiveness.[70] Snapdragon SoCs are also used in most Windows phones[53] and most phones entering the market in mid-2013.[71] The LG G2 was the first phone to market using the Snapdragon 800 in August 2013.[72]
Benchmark tests
Benchmark tests of the Snapdragon 800's processor by PC Magazine found that its processing power was comparable to similar products from Nvidia.[73] Benchmarks of the Snapdragon 805 found that the Adreno 420 GPU resulted in a 40 percent improvement in graphics processing over the Adreno 330 in the Snapdragon 800, though there was only slight differences in processor benchmarks.[74] Benchmarks of the Snapdragon 801 inside an HTC One found a "bump all around" in benchmark improvements over the 800.[75] In 2015, Samsung's decision not to use the Snapdragon 810 in its upcoming Galaxy S6,[34] had a significant detrimental impact on Snapdragon's revenues and reputation.[76] Benchmark tests by Ars Technica confirmed rumors that the 810 under-performed lower-end models and ran warmer than expected.[35][77] A Qualcomm spokesperson said these tests were done with early versions of the 810 that weren’t ready for commercial use.[78] An updated version was released and was found to moderately improve thermal throttling, GPU clock speeds, memory latency, and memory bandwidth when tested in a commercial product, the Xiaomi Mi Note Pro.[79][80]
Under development
In February 2015, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 415, 420, 618 and 620 SoCs.[61] In May 2015, Qualcomm partnered NXP Semiconductors to integrate near field communication (NFC) technology for shopping.[81]
Qualcomm announced it was developing a Snapdragon 820 at the 2015 Mobile World Congress,[82] using Samsung foundries to manufacture the chip, whereas in the past it had used TSMC.[82][83] It also said it was developing a new processor architecture called Kryo,[84] planned for release in late 2015.[85]
References
- ↑ "Find Snapdragon Smartphones, Tablets and Smart Devices". Qualcomm. 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-24.
- ↑ "Snapdragon seeds Qualcomm's future". Electronic Engineering Times. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- 1 2 3 BDTI (5 December 2007). "Analysis: QualComm's 1 GHz ARM "Snapdragon"". Electronic Engineering Times. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ "Qualcomm rolls out Snapdragon for mobile". New Media Age. 16 November 2006.
- ↑ Oram, John (12 October 2011). "Qualcomm announces its 2012 superchip: 28NM Snapdragon S4". VRWorld. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- ↑ Kewney, Guy (May 2009). "Puff the magic Snapdragon". Personal Computer World.
- ↑ Taylor, Colleen (December 2006). "Qualcomm's Q4 Shopping Spree". Electronics News.
- ↑ Hachman, Mark (4 December 2006). "Qualcomm Buys Airgo, Bluetooth Assets". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 Crothers, Brooke (3 February 2009). "Toshiba handheld hits 1GHz with 'Snapdragon'". CNET. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- 1 2 Crothers, Brooke (6 September 2009). "Intel and Qualcomm Eye Each Other’s Terrain". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Sidener, Jonathan (1 August 2008). "Qualcomm and Google prepare reply to iPhone". Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Merritt, Rick (12 November 2008). "Qualcomm launches low-cost PC alternative". Electronic Engineering Times. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- 1 2 Sidener, Jonathan (18 November 2008). "Qualcomm chip shows versatility". Union-Tribune San Diego. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- 1 2 Clark, Don (13 November 2008). "Qualcomm Pushes Beyond Cellphones". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Markoff, John (1 July 2008). "Chips for mobile world pose challenge to Intel". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ Markoff, John (30 June 2008). "Intel’s Dominance Is Challenged by a Low-Power Upstart". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ "Next battleground for processors: powering the consumer computing device". Electronic Engineering Times. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ Merritt, Rick (12 November 2008). "Qualcomm launches low-cost PC alternative". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ Taft, Darryl (6 May 2009). "Sun and Qualcomm Tweak Java for Netbooks". eWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Eddy, Nathan (1 June 2009). "Qualcomm Debuts 45nm Snapdragon Chipset". eWeek. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- ↑ Perez, Marin (1 June 2009). "Qualcomm Shows Off New Mobile Chips". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Maisto, Michelle (14 October 2009). "Acer Liquid Smartphone Uses Android, Qualcomm's Snapdragon". eWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Eddy, Nathan (13 November 2009). "Qualcomm Announces Smartphone Chipsets, Snapdragon Smartbook". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Deagon, Brian (4 December 2009). "Qualcomm Plotting Ways To Push New Type Of Device". Investor's Business Daily.
- ↑ Allen, Danny; Nystedt, Dan; Fletcher, Owen; Shah, Agam (August 2009). "Latest Laptop Trends From Asia's Big Tech Show". PC World.
- 1 2 Freeman, Mike (17 June 2010). "Qualcomm hoping to feast on Snapdragon". Union Tribune San Diego. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- 1 2 Fikes, Bradley (10 January 2010). "Qualcomm pushes to get beyond cell phones". Union Tribune San Diego. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- 1 2 Freeman, Mike (18 October 2010). "Qualcomm gets Snapdragon in new Windows phones". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ "Qualcomm to buy Atheros for $3.2 billion". Associated Press. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Smith, Chris (31 July 2014). "Strategy Analytics: 85% of phones shipped last quarter run Android". BGR. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Krause, Reinhardt (27 September 2012). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon Mobile Chips Take On MediaTek". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Fitchard, Kevin (1 June 2011). "Qualcomm struts is mobile gaming stuff". Connected Planet. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Caulfield, Brian (18 July 2012). "No Factories, No Phones, No Fuss: How Qualcomm Grabs Wireless Profits". Forbes. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- 1 2 Lee, Jungah; King, Ian (20 January 2015). "Samsung Said to Drop Qualcomm Chip From Next Galaxy S". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- 1 2 Cunningham, Andrew (23 April 2015). "In-depth with the Snapdragon 810’s heat problems". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Sun, Leo (29 March 2015). "Will Intel Corporation's Curie Conquer the Internet of Things and Wearables Markets?". Fox Business. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ Agomuoh, Fionna (8 January 2015). "Eyeing Growth, Mobile King Qualcomm Targets The Internet Of Things". International Business Times. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Maisto, Michelle (1 June 2010). "Qualcomm Begins Shipping Dual-CPU, 1.2GHz Snapdragon". eWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- 1 2 Klug, Brian (30 March 2011). "Dual Core Snapdragon GPU Performance Explored - 1.5 GHz MSM8660 and Adreno 220 Benchmarks". Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Gardner, David (18 November 2010). "Qualcomm Details Faster Snapdragon Chipset". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Maisto, Michelle (18 November 2010). "Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor Redesign Targets Smartphones, Tablets". eWeek. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ↑ Clarke, Peter (16 February 2011). "Qualcomm tips quad-core Snapdragon plan". Electronic Engineering Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (13 October 2011). "How Snapdragon S4 and Tegra 3 manage ARM cores differently". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Shimpi, Anand Lal (3 August 2011). "Qualcomm's Updated Brand: Introducing Snapdragon S1, S2, S3 & S4 Processors". AnandTech. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (22 February 2012). "Why Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 has the competition on the defensive". ExtremeTech.
- ↑ Klug, Brian; Shimpi, Anand (21 February 2012). "Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Krait) Performance Preview". AnAndTech. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (28 March 2012). "Early Snapdragon S4 benchmarks could spell trouble for Tegra 3". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Anthony, Sebastian (25 July 2012). "Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon S4 eats Tegra and Exynos for breakfast". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Fitchard, Kevin (3 June 2011). "The Rise of Qualcomm Computing". Connected Planet. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Burt, Jeffrey (25 July 2011). "Qualcomm Buying Gesture Recognition Assets From GestureTek". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- 1 2 Kim, Ryan (16 July 2012). "Qualcomm Aims to Make Snapdragon a Consumer Brand". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Wauters, Robin (16 November 2012). "Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of semiconductor". The Next Web. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- 1 2 Shah, Agam (21 June 2012). "Windows Phone 8 smartphones to run Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 chip". IDG News Service. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (26 August 2011). "How Qualcomm's Snapdragon ARM chips are unique". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Veverka, Mark (17 March 2012). "Qualcomm Inside". Barron's. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Snapdragon Processors, Qualcomm, retrieved 4 October 2014
- ↑ Lipsky, Jessica (31 July 2014). "Q'comm Shares a Wearable Strategy". Electronic Engineering Times. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- 1 2 Silbert, Sarah (6 January 2014). "With the Snapdragon 602A, Qualcomm looks to improve the connected car". Engadget.
- ↑ Hruska, Joel (8 January 2013). "Qualcomm’s Keynote was the most awkward affair in the history of ever". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ↑ Nuttall, Chris (9 January 2013). "Qualcomm takes centre stage in Las Vegas". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- 1 2 3 Hruska, Joel (18 February 2015). "Qualcomm rides to war: Multiple new CPUs, modems announced ahead of Mobile World Congress". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Gomez, Kevin (24 June 2013). "Qualcomm adds six new processors to its Snapdragon 200 class". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Poeter, Damon (20 November 2013). "Qualcomm Unveils Next-Gen Snapdragon 805". PC Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Dolcourt, Jessica; Tibken, Shara (9 December 2013). "Qualcomm's Snapdragon 410 brings 64-bit, LTE to emerging markets". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Cunningham, Wayne (15 January 2015). "Smart phone, smarter car". CNET. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Poeter, Damon (24 February 2014). "Qualcomm Spices Up Snapdragon 600 Line With New 64-Bit Chips". PC Magazine.
- ↑ Poeter, Damon (7 April 2014). "Qualcomm Unveils Next-Gen Snapdragon 810, 808 Chips". PC Magazine.
- ↑ Shah, Agam (28 July 2014). "Qualcomm planting seeds for 4K video, silicon brains in mobile devices". PCWorld. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (11 September 2014). "Snapdragon 210 brings LTE to entry-level phones, but not 64-bit Snapdragon 208 will also serve as a cheaper 3G-only option". Ars Technica.
- ↑ Dolcourt, Jessica (20 June 2012). "Qualcomm confirms Snapdragon S4 processor for Windows Phone". CNET. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Anthony, Sebastian (9 August 2013). "Surface RT 2: Tegra confirmed, despite superiority of Snapdragon and Bay Trail". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (7 August 2013). "LG G2 announced: 5.2-inch 1080p, first commercial Snapdragon 800 phone". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Segan, Sascha (19 June 2013). "Benchmarking Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800". PC Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ Anthony, Sebastian (22 May 2014). "Snapdragon 805 benchmarked: Krait’s last hurrah, and the arrival of a new GPU king". ExtremeTech. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ↑ Segan, Sascha (25 March 2014). "Why the HTC One (M8)'s Snapdragon 801 Is So Snappy". PC Magazine.
- ↑ Rubin, Ben (2 March 2015). "What's inside your smartphone? Most customers don't care". CNET. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (30 April 2015). "Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 808 doesn’t get so hot under the collar". Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ McGregor, Jay (6 May 2015). "Qualcomm Finally Speaks Out About Samsung And Snapdragon". Forbes. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ↑ D., Luis (6 May 2015). "Revised Snapdragon 810 boasts performance and thermal improvements in Xiaomi Mi Note Pro benchmarks". PhoneArena. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ↑ Ho, Joshua (18 June 2015). "Comparing Snapdragon 810 v2 and v2.1: More Memory Bandwidth, Higher Clocks". AnAndTech. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ↑ Yoshida, Junko (5 May 2015). "NXP-Qualcomm Partnership to Drive NFC". EE Times. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- 1 2 Shah, Agam (20 April 2015). "Qualcomm looking to fast-track Snapdragon 820 with help from Samsung". IDG News Service.
- ↑ Fried, Ina (20 April 2015). "Exclusive: Qualcomm to Use Samsung’s Foundries for Its Next High-End Chip". re/code. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ Anthony, Sebastian (2 March 2015). "Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 will feature Kryo CPU, Krait’s 64-bit successor". Ars Technica. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
- ↑ Ribeiro, John (22 April 2015). "Qualcomm hit by China fine, cut in Samsung business". IDG News Service. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
Further reading
- Boxall, Andy (24 January 2015). "When cities adopt smartphone chips, trash cans talk and street lamps have ears". Digital Trends.
External links
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