Michmutters

Back in 2019, Google proudly announced they had achieved what quantum computing researchers had sought for years: proof that the esoteric technique could outperform traditional ones. But this demonstration of “quantum supremacy” is being challenged by researchers claiming to have pulled ahead of Google on a relatively normal supercomputer.

To be clear, no one is saying Google lied or misrepresented its work — the painstaking and groundbreaking research that led to the quantum supremacy announcement in 2019 is still hugely important. But if this new paper is correct, the classical versus quantum computing competition is still anybody’s game.

You can read the full story of how Google took quantum from theory to reality in the original article, but here’s the very short version. Quantum computers like Sycamore are not better than classical computers at anything yet, with the possible exception of one task: simulating a quantum computer.

It sounds like a cop-out, but the point of quantum supremacy is to show the method’s viability by finding even one highly specific and weird task that it can do better than even the fastest supercomputer. Because that gets the quantum foot in the door to expand that library of tasks. Perhaps in the end all tasks will be faster in quantum, but for Google’s purposes in 2019, only one was, and they showed how and why in great detail.

Now, a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences led by Pan Zhang has published a paper describing a new technique for simulating a quantum computer (specifically, certain noise patterns it puts out) that appears to take a tiny fraction of the time estimated for classical computation to do so in 2019.

Not being a quantum computing expert nor a statistical physics professor myself, I can only give a general idea of ​​the technique Zhang et al. used. They cast the problem as a large 3D network of tensors, with the 53 qubits in Sycamore represented by a grid of nodes, extruded out 20 times to represent the 20 cycles the Sycamore gates went through in the simulated process. The mathematical relationships between these tensors (each its own set of interrelated vectors) was then calculated using a cluster of 512 GPUs.

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An illustration from Zhang’s paper showing a visual representation of the 3D tensor array they used to simulate Sycamore’s quantum operations. Image Credits: Pan Zhang et al.

In Google’s original paper, it was estimated that performing this scale of simulation on the most powerful supercomputer available at the time (Summit at Oak Ridge National Laboratory) would take about 10,000 years — though to be clear, that was their estimate for 54 qubits doing 25 cycles; 53 qubits doing 20 is considerably less complex but would still take on the order of a few years by their estimate.

Zhang’s group claims to have done it in 15 hours. And if they had access to a proper supercomputer like Summit, it might be accomplished in a handful of seconds — faster than Sycamore. Their paper will be published in the journal Physical Review Letters; you can read it here (PDF).

These results have yet to be fully vetted and replicated by those knowledgeable about such things, but there’s no reason to think it’s some kind of error or hoax. Google even admitted that the baton may be passed back and forth a few times before supremacy is firmly established, as it’s incredibly difficult to build and program quantum computers while classical ones and their software are being improved constantly. (Others in the quantum world were skeptical of their claims to begin with, but some are direct competitors.)

Google offered the following comment acknowledging the march of progress here:

As University of Maryland quantum scientist Dominik Hangleiter told Science, this isn’t a black eye for Google or a knockout punch for quantum in general by any means: “The Google experiment did what it was meant to do, start this race.”

Google may well strike back with new claims of its own — it hasn’t been standing still either. But the fact that it’s even competitive is good news for everyone involved; this is an exciting area of ​​computing and work like Google’s and Zhang’s continues to raise the bar for everyone.

The Tecno Camon 19 series will launch in the Philippines soon. The lineup has been spotted on Lazada ahead of the launch. Tecno Mobile is prepping to bring the Camon 19 series to the Philippines. To recap, the brand launched the Camon 19, and Camon 19 Neo in India last month. Now, a myriad of proofs hints at the devices’ imminent launch in the Philippines.

Further, Tecno Mobiles has appointed Donnalyn Bartolome as the brand ambassador for the Tecno Camon 19 Pro Piet Mondrian Edition. This model features a unique “art meets technology” back cover. Moreover, the back cover comes in two color options. Notably, a new Camon model is now available on the company’s official Lazada store.

Tecno Camon 19 Series Headed To The Philippines Soon

The company has been sparing no effort to create hype around the Camon 19 series’ debut. Its official social media account is teeming with Tecno Camon 19 series Philippine launch teasers. To recap, Tecno Mobile Philippines shared a teaser for Camon 19 Pro Piet Mondrian Special Edition on Facebook on Friday. The brand has roped in Malaysian internet celebrity Donnalyn Bartolome to promote the upcoming series.

The company has also teased the Camon 19 Pro standard. Likewise, it has been hinted at multiple times at the imminent launch of the Camon 19 series. Notably, the lineup includes Camon 19 Pro 5G, Camon 19 Pro, Camon 19, and Camon 19 Neo models. However, Revu spotted a listing comprising two Camon variants. One of the variants packs a 4G processor. Also, there’s a 5G-ready model in the office too. Further, the Mondrian Edition will reportedly be a part of the color variants available in Malaysia.

Moreover, the Polar Blue, Cedar Green, and Eco Black color variants will be up for grabs. The camera-centric series of smartphones went official in the US in June. However, the series has only one 5G-ready model that packs a 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset. Further, the device sports a 6.78-inch with a 120Hz refresh rate. It features a triple rear camera setup featuring a 64MP primary sensor.

The vanilla Camon 19 Pro version comes with an Helio G96 SoC. It features the same display as the 5G-ready model. However, the Camon 19 will come with a Helio G88 chip and a 6.67-inch display. The device uses a 5,000mAh battery to draw its juices. Likewise, the Camon 19 Neo has a Helio G85 processor. The phone features a 6.8-inch display and the same robust battery. Lastly, all Camon 19 series phones run Android 12 OS.