- As rumored, Qualcomm's (NASDAQ:QCOM) next-gen flagship baseband/app processor, the Snapdragon 810, will feature eight 64-bit ARM (ARMH) cores. However, it'll do so by using ARM's big.LITTLE architecture, pairing four powerful ARM cores with four low-power cores meant to handle less demanding tasks. (technical details)
- ARM has been pitching big.LITTLE (also used by Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa CPU) to chipmakers as a way to improve battery life. It also serves to improve ARM's royalty rates, given the company charges higher rates for chips with more cores.
- Qualcomm states the 810 is designed for 4K displays, and will be able to record 4K video at 30fps and 1080p video at 120fps. A slightly less powerful CPU, the Snapdragon 808 (2 high-power and 4 low-power ARM CPUs), is designed for 2560x1600 displays.
- The chips are expected to sample in 2H and ship in commercial hardware in 1H15. Qualcomm, only five months removed from announcing the quad-core Snapdragon 805 (expected in commercial hardware soon), still has the market for high-end, integrated, 4G baseband/app processors to itself. It also has a dominant mid-range share, but competition is starting to pick up.