For months now the Android world has held their breath in anticipation of L. Normally at this point a quick explanation of L would be needed but surely you have heard of L… Android L…Android 5.0! Yes, you know the one. Android’s new operating system. Well, we all know it won’t be called simply ‘L’ although none of us seem to know what it will be called. We also know that it is expected to launch imminently and by imminently within the next few weeks. But what is less known is its emphasis towards 64 bit processors.
Yes, 64 bit was all the rage last year for iOS users when Apple released its compatibility with the iPhone 5S and at the time many Android users held their noses high while scoffing. Well, shame on you! A year on and it seems L is certainly planning to make 64 bit processors a serious feature of its operating system. So much so that all the big processor players are working (and fighting) hard to make sure their processors are up to scratch. In fact, it is now being predicting that by the second half of 2015 64 bit processors will be the mainstream technology in the Android world and across Android devices.
In terms of processors there are two main names batted around currently, MediaTek and Qualcomm. Both are hard at work at integrating 64 bit compatibilities into their processors with Qualcomm leading the way by already announcing their 64 bit offerings in the form of the Snapdragon 610, 614 and 410 chipsets. Likewise, MediaTek is also well on their way to market although it is largely expected that the MediaTek offerings will be far more readily available for Chinese handsets compared to elsewhere. In terms of the ‘others’ Huawei are in the process of developing a 64 bit processor (albeit via their subsidiary HiSilicon Technologies) in spite of already signing on to Qualcomm. While similarly, Samsung’s in-house 64 bit processor is highly expected to remain exclusive for their own smartphones throughout 2014 and well into the early part of 2015. In terms of HiSilicon it is largely expected their processors to hit some point in the first half of 2015. Whether either Samsung or HiSillicon can make an impact against the rising might of MediaTek and the already established dominance of Qualcomm is yet to be determined. Either way the race for 64 bit is certainly well under way.