Apple M1 Macs usher in a new computer era on the arm. Arm’s CEO is optimistic

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For years, computer manufacturers have been trying to sell computers built on Arm processors, a family-efficient family that powers smartphones. Compared to models used on x86 chips from Intel and AMD, arm-based computers lack performance and software compatibility.

Apple’s M1 processors, the Apple-designed member of the Arm family that uses new MacBooks, are now changing from Arm PCs. The M1 chips not only offer good battery life, like Qualcomm’s Arm chips in some Windows laptops, but also good performance. At the same time, x86 computers have only gradually improved.

It is therefore no surprise to hear a new optimism from Simon Segars, CEO of the arm.

“What we’re starting to see now is real innovation going on in a market where there has not been much innovation yet,” Segars said in an interview during the CES 2021 technology conference. “There’s always discontinuity that makes people doubt how we do it, that injects energy into innovation.”

Part of the innovation comes from Arm itself, which is pouring new engineering resources into computer chip designs, he said. Another part could come from Nvidia, the leading maker of graphics chips that Arm is trying to acquire for $ 40 billion.

Arm indeed has a better chance thanks to Apple, said Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies. “Arm has been talking forever about breaking into this market. I think they’re about to really do that. Apple is on the way in,” he said. Success for Arm would mean that computers are powerful enough for buyers in the mainstream, but efficient enough that you can leave your charger on a desk for a day or two in a desk.

Although Arm is not a well-known name, the technology of Cambridge, an English company, has a large share of the computer market. The poorest chips have power for almost every smartphone. It is also used in network equipment, internet-of-things devices, Raspberry Pi hardware hackers and the world’s fastest supercomputer. About 20 billion arm disks are sent each year.

Intel, AMD and Apple’s M1 ‘beast’

To succeed, Arm fans will have to reckon with new chips from Intel and AMD that originated at CES. Lis Ry Su, CEO, said AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series chips for laptops offer up to 17.5 hours of general use on battery power. Intel has revealed that the next generation Alder Lake processor is coming later this year. It uses an approach used long in Arm chips, a combination of fast processing cores and slower, power-efficient cores.

Segars acknowledged that it was difficult to integrate the computer ecosystem of component manufacturers, software and computer manufacturers. He believes that Arm’s combination of performance and energy efficiency can ultimately claim a significant market share.

Apple has proven that this is possible. “The M1 is an animal with a more aggressive core design,” said Kevin Krewell, an analyst at Tirias Research. “Apple’s M1 has confirmed that the Arm architecture can perform very well and go from side to side with x86.”

Apple has an ecosystem advantage that other low-end PC manufacturers do not have: control over the MacOS operating system, including the ability to optimize performance and ensure everything works. For Windows computer software, supporting Arm disks is usually a second priority at best, even with Microsoft’s enthusiasm. Software makers may treat Arm Windows versions of their products as optional, but in about two years, all Macs will be Arm-based.

Invest in new slide design

Under its current ownership by investment firm Softbank, Arm has invested heavily in new engineering. Chipmakers can license Arm’s complete chip design or just the instruction set that software uses to communicate with Arm chips, an approach that allows chipmakers to design their own processors as they wish.

Arm’s design capabilities mean that chipmakers are less encouraged to create their own designs. “There are more people licensing our CPU implementation technology than there were a few years ago,” Segars said. “You have to spend an awful lot of money to do better than Poor.”

Indeed, Samsung has switched to Arm’s Cortex-X1 design for its new eight-core Exynos 2100 mobile processor announced at CES on Tuesday. However, not everyone is going in that direction. Fujitsu designed its own supercomputer chips, and Qualcomm announced on Wednesday that it had acquired Nuvia to revitalize its Arm chip designs. If the Nuvia technology keeps its promise, it could also significantly strengthen the Arm PC market, as Qualcomm is the primary disk maker behind Windows laptops.

What is unclear is how big a problem Nvidia’s attempt to acquire Arm will be for the chip holders, which also includes companies such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, Huawei, Marvell and Amazon. Nvidia and Arm argue that their chip technology is complementary and suitable for the next generation of computer requirements. Arm has tried to assure disc license holders that they will be able to license Arm products as always, but the reality is that Arm will also become part of a major competitor.

“It’s a star-crossed acquisition. The industry is so averse to it,” Kay said. He probably predicts more interest in alternatives like RISC-V, a new disk instruction set available without Arm’s license barriers.

Nvidia and Arm have given themselves 18 months to convince regulators that the acquisition is a good idea, meaning it could close in early 2022. The companies are making great progress ‘and convince regulators, says Segars, but adds:’ All that regulatory analysis is not is fast. ‘

Update, 09:13 PT: Explain that Segars comments on the general outlook of Arm PCs.