In six months or so we will be seeing the first ARM processors based on the new dual-core Cortex A9 architecture, but already processor manufacturers are lining up to license ARM’s next generation microarchitecture Eagle.
ARM already has an Intel-like monopoly on the mobile processor market. Smartphones and tables rely almost exclusively on the energy efficient architecture. Cortex A8 is the base of most ARM processors on the market today, including Snapdragon and Samsung S5PC100.
This Winter or early next year we will see the next wave of ARM circuits based on the Cortex A9 architecture. The first with an out of order architecture and dual cores.
TI OMAP 44xx will soon appear in smartphones and tablets
Texas Instrument will be ready with its OMAP 44xx processor based on Cortex A9, but already the circuit manufacturer has licensed ARM’s next generation CPU core. The code is called Eagle and TI has even participated in the development of the circuit, which has now given it a headstart, although the launch is not estimated until a year after Cortex A9, most likely in 2012.
“Together, we’re finding new ways to bridge the gap between performance and power requirements, as is evident with our joint work on the next-generation Cortex-A series processor core’s definition. We look forward to seeing TI come to market with game-changing solutions that place ARM’s new processor core at the heart of tomorrow’s consumer-focused smart mobile products.”
Performance of ultramobile platforms increase at a staggering pace and beside ARM there is always Intel trying to move out the Moorestown SoC into future mobile devices. The exact specifications of ARM Eagle was not revealed, but it will raise the bar of the already promising Cortex A9 that will bring dual cores operating at over 1 GHz.
