IBM, Google, Intel, Rigetti, and D-Wave are all building various kinds of solid-state quantum processors and it is apparent that there is no real consensus on which technological approach will make universal quantum computing commercially viable until today! The startup IonQ is using trapped ions for its qubits using ytterbium atoms suspended in a vacuum. How many qubits, or quantum bits, does it have? Well, these days, qubit count is a misleading number for understanding how powerful a quantum computer is. It’s more about how good those qubits are.
However the article says nothing about the architecture being used, or the methodology being applied to make the whole thing work. A lot of what is said is conjecture, let alone the physical limitations that need to overcome. https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-at-ces-2019-outlines-q-system-one-quantum-computer/
The other issue is some inherent issues bigger is not necessarily better:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=trapped+Ions+vs+superconductors+%2B+IBM&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSBR
In fact Ions can be slower than superconductors, even though potentially the qubits last longer in seconds.
Regards
Caute_cautim
Quantum technology is real despite the sometimes lack of details in the newsy articles. How far has the technology progressed? Look no further then at what China Unicom and Hengtong Optoelectronics have developed for data encryption and leakage prevention and tamper-resistant network system based on quantum encryption trunks. They were honored at the most recent World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) forum in Geneva, Switzerland.
The project covers the main line area from Beijing to Xiong'an and uses the FM phase-encoding quantum key distribution device (QKD) with independent intellectual property rights to construct a data encryption anti-leakage and anti-tamper system based on the quantum-encrypted communication trunk. The total length of the encrypted communication trunk project is about 700 kilometers.
Yes, that they invest in their own protection despite doing the exact opposite on the other hand. Whilst stealing other nations IP. There is a great deal of interesting in post quantum crypto analysis at the present time, this apparently is where the real money exists.
Regards
Caute_cautim