ARM has announced its next generation CPUs and GPU at its event in Computex 2017. This includes the ARM Cortex-A75 for the high-end flagship level devices and ARM Cortex-A55 for mid-range smartphones. The company's new GPU is the Mali G72, which its says is now more efficient. The new CPUs and GPU will be used by Qualcomm, Samsung, Apple to architect their own mobile processor chipsets.
ARM claims Cortex-A75 delivers "ground breaking performance", delivering 20 percent improved performance than its predecessor Cortex-A73. It also provides 15 percent more memory throughput on memory copy over Cortex-A73. The additional computing power and memory will enable demanding apps to rum smoothly, and this will provide a significant boost to the next generation of devices. It is also able to offrt up to 50 percent more performance in multi-threaded use case and 30 percent increase in performance on large-screen devices.
The Cortex-A55 is a follow-on to the Cortex-A53 CPU, and offers 15 percent improved power efficiency, double the memory performance and ten times the scalability. It can also deliver the same level of performance as the Cortex-A53 at a 30 percent lower power. It is also able to deliver sustained performance for a longer duration than Cortex-A53, making it ideal for virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
Both Cortex-A75 and Cortex-A55 are built on DynamIQ technology, ARM's new multi-core technology, and focuses on machine learning and artificial intelligence. DynamicIQ gives chipmakers greater freedom in choosing cores includes a 1+7 configuration, where a single Coretex-A7 core can be paired with seven A55 cores. Chipmakers can also use 4+4, 2+6, 1+3, or other configurations in a single cluster. This will give them the ability to maximize the performance of the chip.
Speaking of the GPU, the Mali-G72 builds on the Bifrost architecture, which was first used on Mali-G71, to provide greater performance within an even smaller area. The GPU is designed for high fidelity Mobile gaming and machine learning, and also takes the VR capability of the Mali G71 to a new level. It provides 25 percent higher energy efficiency, 20 percent more performance and 17 percent more efficiency for machine learning. As a result it will offer up to 40 percent more performance overall.
Meanwhile, a leak coming out of China claims that Snapdragon 845 will be equipped with Cortex-A75 cores. The current Snapdragon 835 which powers Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+, Mi 6 uses a semi-custom design that features Cortex-A73 core, so there is no surprise, Qualcomm will use the new Cortex-A75 on its next gen flagship SoC. Devices powered by the new processor will hit the market Q1 2018.
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ARM at Computex 2016, introduced Mali G71 GPU designed for high-end flagship product (used in Kirin 960 SoC). Now the chip maker has announced Mali G51 GPU, which is aimed at the mid-range smartphones.
Similar to Mali G71, Mali G51 uses the new Bifrost architecture and has native support for Vulkan, and is meant to enable premium features, 4K support AR support, and low-power VR support on mainstream devices.
According to ARM the new GPU is more area-efficient and energy efficient top date. The GPU has a redesigned structuring unit with double the throughput, and the new dual-pixel shader core will double text and pixel rates, and now can be used asymmetrically with a uni-pixel shader core.
In terms of performance, the Mali G51 GPU promises up to 60 percent more performance per square millimeter and is up to 60 percent more energy-efficient than Mali-T830 GPU. It is also 30 percent smaller, to help reduce costs, while providing better performance.
ARM also introduced Mali V-61 VPU (Video Processing Unit) that brings VP9 and improved HEVC to next generation devices.
Mali-V61 supports real-time 4K video decoding/ encoding at up to 120 frames per second (4K120). According to ARM Mali-V61 VPU is aimed at real time live-streaming video applications like Facebook Live and Periscope. It offers 50 percent bit-rate saving over previous generation codecs, supports HEVC h.265 with HDR/10 but and scales from 1080p @ 60 fps on a single core all the way up to 4K @ 120fps on multiple cores, providing the highest definition streaming on any mobile device.
ARM says that the Mali-G51 GPU and Mali V61 VPU have already been licensed to multiple customers and will be seen in mobile devices in 2018.
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Japan based internet and telecommunications company SoftBank has agreed to buy popular UK-based chip design maker ARM Holdings for about 24 billion pounds ($32 billion), a deal which is touted to be the largest ever acquisition of a European tech firm.
ARM dominates the smartphone market, with its lineup of chips that are used in 95 percent of the smartphones to date. Some of the notable clients include Samsung, Apple and Huawei. The number of devices running ARM-designed hardware crossed 60 billion last year.
The firm, unlike Intel, does not manufacture its own processors, instead licenses the IP for its designs to manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Samsung, Huawei, NVIDIA, Apple and others, so that they design their own products. For instance Samsung licenses Cortex processor or chip architecture from ARM to design their own CPU like the Exynos M1 CPU on Exynos 8890 SoC, which is utilized by Galaxy S7.
SoftBank is a major investor in the tech segment, and some of the notable companies that it acquired stake include U.S carrier Sprint, China's e-commerce giant Alibaba, India's e-commerce space Snapdeal and rid aggregator Ola Cabs among others.
SoftBank
CEO Masayoshi Son said that ARM would function as an independent
business, with an intention to double the number of employees employed by ARM in the UK over the next five years. He added "ARM will be an excellent strategic fit with the Softbank group as we invest to capture the very significant opportunities provided by the internet of things"
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ARM at Computex 2016 has announced their new mobile and graphic processor technologies, the Cortex A73 CPU and Mali G71 GPU, designed for flagship devices of 2017. Both the CPU and GPU will enable next gen flagship device capable of delivering VR and AR experience and run 4K contents as well.
The Cortex-A73 is built using 10nm process using FinFET technology, that allows the chip to measure less than .65 square mm. It is claimed to be 30 percent faster than the A72, offering 30 percent increase in performance.
The Mali-G71 GPU uses the new GPU architecture called Biforst with up to 32shader cores and is Vulkan optimized. It promises 50 percent increase in graphics performance and 20 percent increase in power-efficiency than the Mali T-880 GPU. It supports 4K resolution with refresh rate of up to 120Hz and alatency of 4ms.
ARM said that over 10 partners including HiSilicon, Marvell and MediaTek have licensed the Cortex A73, while the Mali-G71 GPU has been licensed by HiSilicon, MediaTek and Samsung. (Source | Via)
Highlights of ARM Cortex A73 CPU and Mali-G71 CPU
- ARM premium IP will redefine virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences on 2017 flagship mobile devices
- The ARM Mali G71 graphics processor offers advanced efficiency and performance gains from the new Bifrost architecture
- The ARM Cortex-A73 addresses the most demanding use cases with impressive increases in sustained performance and efficiency
- Products are optimized for the latest 10nm FinFET process technology.
