ARM’s latest processors drive Android phone manufacturers to use only 64-bit devices
ARM just sent a false warning to Android phone manufacturers who are still clinging to 32-bit technology. The company introduced its first line of exclusively 64-bit CPU core models – unlike last year, there is no legacy technology available to vendors. Cortex-X4, Cortex-A720, and Cortex-A520 don’t always represent big leaps in performance, but they’re likely to drive the pace of Android for the foreseeable future.
Cortex-X4, like X3, is a performance core aimed at flagship phones. Its updated architecture offers 15 percent more performance, but uses 40 percent less energy than its predecessor. According to ARM, this means faster application startup and a more responsive user interface. We also wouldn’t be surprised if this improves battery life in games and other intensive tasks.
At the same time, the Cortex-A720 complements the “middle” A715 core, which handles most of the computing work. Although it is faster, the focus is on longevity. ARM claims the A720 is 20 percent more energy efficient than last year’s design. Chipmakers could use the smaller “entry” version to cut costs or make their devices smaller.
We’re not discounting the core of the Cortex-A520’s efficiency. While it’s ultimately intended for background processing and other low-demand tasks, it’s said to be 22 percent more efficient than the A510, which it makes up for with eight percent better performance management. Your phone may last longer, even if you’re not a power user.
Yes, ARM also cares about graphics performance. It simultaneously releases the Immortalis-G720, Mali-G720 and Mali-G620 GPUs, which again offer more performance with less power consumption. In particular, they introduce a delayed title shading (DVS) pipeline that uses much less bandwidth (33 percent less in Genshin Impact), leaving room for more complex scenes and HDR visuals. Immortalis is said to offer a 15 percent performance jump over its predecessor, even if it’s 15 percent more powerful. It supports 10 or more cores, while the Mali-G720 supports six to nine cores. The G620 is a budget monitor with up to five cores.
ARM did not name the customers. However, since almost the entire mobile industry is built on ARM, we expect Qualcomm, MediaTek and others to use the new Cortex models as starting points for their next system-on-chip models. It is not clear whether Apple uses it or not. Although Apple uses ARM, it has not yet jumped to the newer ARMV9 architecture.
It’s safe to say that this will affect the Android market the least. Although Apple ended support for 32-bit devices and apps with the release of iOS 11 in 2017, AnandTech points out that Android has been relatively slow, with Chinese brands like Oppo and Xiaomi sticking with 32-bit SoCs for a particularly long time. The new ARM series effectively pushes these companies to upgrade – they either use pure 64-bit SoCs or risk being left behind.
