Flagship devices now a-days are running pretty intense specs, with quad-core (and some Octa-Core) processors powering huge, High-Definition screens as they display games, movies, ebooks and the like. But even Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 (which is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination) is only running a 32-bit architecture for its processors, something Apple seems to have suddenly made obsolete this year. With the iPhone 5s came the Apple A7 Dual-Core Processor with Quad-Core graphics, all based on a 64-bit architecture. Since then, you could say that Apple ‘set the bar’ (I wouldn’t say they started a revolution or anything though) for what processors should be built like for the mobile technology field in the coming years.
Samsung has been pretty vocal about their plans for a new Exynos processor running a 64-bit architecture, saying that such a processor would be powering flagship phones (most likely the Samsung Galaxy S5 / Note IV ) in 2014. Qualcomm hasn’t stated anything which way about whether or not their processors will be featuring such architecture, only that the Apple A7 chip is a “Marketing Gimmick” by Apple to rouse the attention of the tech enthusiasts. Regardless of the performance of their processor, needless to say, it worked.
But almost in an attempt to one-up the competition, an unnamed ARM Executive admitted that the company was planning 128-bit chips for the market in two years, according to Pocketnow’s report. While the executive noted that this isn’t an official plan that has been confirmed, it is something that he believes likely to happen as the market continues to expect more and more powerful hardware.
A lot of you (me included) would probably be asking in this case “Why do we need 128-bit architecture in our phones?”. ARM thinks that as software continues to grow and mature, more system memory (and with it, smarter use of system memory) will be necessary to compensate.
It’s hard to imagine such a reality however, since most home computers running Windows 8 and Mac OS don’t use anything higher than 64-bit architecture. Lower end computers even still use a 32-bit model. Having something in your pocket with something more complicated than those processors? Impressive to say the least. That’s a long ways away however, and I am sure we’d all be happy with an updated 2014 Snapdragon 800 style processor with just 64-bit architecture. What do you think?