UK chip designer ARM Holdings PLC yesterday launched a new microprocessor ahead of the annual Computex PC show in Taipei, targeting the 580 million mid-range mobile device market over the next two years.
ARM’s Cortex-A12 central processing unit (CPU), one of the new microprocessors for mid-range mobile devices introduced yesterday, will be made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the US-based GlobalFoundries Inc, using 28-nanometer process technology, ARM said.
TSMC will also make ARM’s new graphics processing unit (GPU), dubbed the Mali-T622, which is also designed for mid-range devices, ARM said.
“Mid-range devices are really going to explode. We have product designs ready to hit this marketplace,” ARM chief marketing officer and executive vice president Ian Drew said. “This US$200 and US$350 phone is going to be the magic growth over the next two years.”
In 2015, mid-range mobile device shipments are forecast to grow 2.5-fold from last year to 580 million units, Drew said.
ARM expects the Cortex-A12 chip to be used in mobile devices by the middle of next year. The new Cortex-A12 delivers a 40 percent performance improvement over the previous-generation Cortex-A9 chip, ARM said.
Unlisted VIA Telecom Inc (威睿電通), one of lead partners of ARM’s mid-range processors, yesterday said it plans to ship its first quad-core handset chip that integrates the power-efficient Cortex-A12 CPU by the end of next year in smartphones with a price tag of between US$300 and US$400.
“We believe chips based on ARM’s Cortex-A12 design will be the mainstream in the future,” VIA chief executive officer Ker Zhang (張可) said yesterday on the sidelines of ARM’s product launch.
In the second half of this year, VIA Telecom will continue to ship handset chips based on ARM’s Cortex A-7 and Cortex A-9 CPU’s, Zhang said. VIA telecom is a subsidiary of local chip designer VIA Technologies Inc (威盛).
ARM partner MediaTek Inc (聯發科) last week unveiled a new quad-core application processor, integrating ARM’s Cortex-A7 CPU design, for tablets.
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