The battle for the fast-growing mobile semiconductor market will intensify late this year with the introduction of new processors from each camp–ARM and x86, according to market research firm In-Stat. Intel will introduce processors that will finally reduce the power consumption of the x86 architecture to acceptable levels for smartphones and other mobile devices. Shortly after, many in the competing ARM camp, including Freescale, TI, and Samsung, will essentially be scaling up performance with multi-core processors that maintain similar power levels to existing single-core products.
“While both will offer competitive solutions, In-Stat does not anticipate quick changes in the current market mix; the x86 architecture dominates the computing applications and the ARM architecture dominates cellular devices,” says Jim McGregor, In-Stat analyst. “Mini-notebooks will be the primary battle ground as the market starts seeing some crossover in 2011. However, both architectures are likely to co-exist as devices become more focused in features and usage models.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- The Total Available Market (TAM) for merchant market mobile processors is projected to grow 22.3 percent through 2013.
- Integration of additional cores, graphics/multimedia, I/O, and baseband functionality will continue, particularly in handheld applications. Among smartphones, for example, 87 percent will feature mobile processors with integrated baseband functionality by 2013.
- The estimated value of the processing, graphics/multimedia, and baseband functions will all increase at double digit growth rates over the next few years.
In-Stat
RELATED ARTICLES
Intel Sales Push Q2 MPU Market Rebound
China to Account for 35% of Global IC Market in 2013
Global Chip Sales Up 17% in Q2 - SIA
Top 20 Semiconductor Companies Saw 21% Sales Surge in Q2
Future Horizons: 2Q09 Chip Market Up 18%
ARM Joins Serial Port Memory Technology Consortium
Annual Shipments of ARM Processors Forecast to Match World Population in 2014
Ultra Low-power Physical IP Technology To Drive Next-generation MCU Devices
ARM, Synopsys Team with Common Platform Alliance for 32nm/28nm Mobile SOC Designs
CoWare, Mentor Graphics and Synopsys Join ARM Fast Models Enablement Program
