You’ve probably already heard of ARM, the little chips that colonize our phones. But what about RISC-V?
A low-noise revolution is beginning to take shape in the small world of connected gadgets. After years of unparalleled domination on the market, ARM, the manufacturer which holds the operating rights to almost all processors for smartphones, tablets, connected watches and even some computers, is finally challenged by a newcomer.
Indeed, Qualcomm will launch its very first RISC-V chip in the near future. You don’t understand everything? Don’t panic, we’ll explain.
ARM? RISC-V? It’s what ?
In the vast majority of our mobile devices there are processors which are all built more or less the same way: respecting the ARM architecture. These ARM processors, which are simpler and less energy-intensive than the Intel processors found in our PCs, are built in accordance with the specifications of the company Arm ltd, which holds the rights to this specific method. to manufacture mobile processors.
Whether it’s our phones, our connected watches or even Apple’s new computers with their Silicon chips, everyone uses ARM chips. The term has practically become a synonym for mobile chip, as wearable devices that do not use this technology are rare. Problem is, building an ARM chip therefore means paying rights to the company of the same name. Qualcomm in particular, which supplies the processors for many Android mobiles, very often goes to the cash register. Other companies, like Intel, are investing in the company outright.
The battle for Android’s innards
That’s why the company announced the release of its first-ever RISC-V processor in a press release published on October 17. RISC-V is an architecture competing with ARM which has the enormous advantage of being open and free… and therefore free to use. This means that mobile manufacturers could use RISC-V processors in smartphones without having to pay anyone anything. And the first results are rather encouraging.
Although these chips are already used in certain devices, the architecture has never yet been deployed on very mainstream devices. This is why Qualcomm’s announcement is important. It marks the beginning of a profound change that could shake up Arm’s dominance in the world of Android. Google is also fully behind this project, since the company announced in January 2023 that it had started work to adapt Android to RISC-V. Apple is also working on this.
There is still a lot of work, and even Qualcomm is getting there little by little. The company is launching first on a smartwatch processor, not smartphones, but the battle for the innards of our mobile devices is well and truly underway with this announcement.
Source : Qualcomm
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