In terms of sheer performance, it is no secret that Android processors, whether Qualcomm or MediaTek, have consistently lagged behind Apple. Nevertheless, a recent report by Moor Insights and Strategy posits that ARM, which has lagged behind Apple for decades, may close the gap and possibly surpass the company’s products with the forthcoming Cortex X5 CPU core.
Anticipated performance advances of what nature?
Reportedly, the “largest year-over-year IPC (instructions per cycle/clock) performance increase in five years” is delivered by ARM’s new core design, codenamed Blackhawk. This makes it one of the most significant improvements since the Cortex-X series of processors was introduced in 2020. Furthermore, in line with current developments in the industry, the core exhibits remarkable performance on Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI functionalities.
Nevertheless, although the Cortex-X5 core seems to narrow the disparity in benchmarks, its practical ramifications on battery life are still ambiguous. Consequently, in the event of a substantial influence on the battery, manufacturers such as MediaTek may opt to omit the performance cores in favour of efficiency and medium cores once more.
ARM fails to produce Apple processors?
Although the answer is affirmative, it is also negative. Apple, in fact, designs its own processors utilising ARM’s technology, retaining exclusive rights to these designs. This differentiation has resulted in a significant disparity in performance, with iPhones capable of running full-desktop-level games and Android devices frequently encountering difficulties with standard mobile games.
When can we anticipate Mobile Blackhawk from ARM?
While precise dates remain uncertain, it is possible that the technology will make its mobile phone debut by the conclusion of this year. In relation to particular processors, it is anticipated that the forthcoming Samsung Exynos 2500 and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 will incorporate the novel Cortex-X CPU core, thereby enhancing their performance to that of Apple’s A18 Pro and Bionic SoCs.
Nevertheless, it is critical to mention that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will not feature ARM’s forthcoming CPU core. In its place, Qualcomm’s proprietary Oryon CPU cores will be implemented.