ARM has revealed the Cortex A72, its next-generation CPU core for high-end processors. The A72 builds on the foundation laid by the Cortex A57 core, ARM’s current high-end processor.
With the A72, ARM focused on improving speeds and power efficiency, while decreasing the die size. The core can be manufactured using 14 or 16 nanometer processes. ARM says the A72 can deliver a 20-60% increase in instructions-per-block when compared to the A57. Reduced latency in the core means clock speeds can reach 2.7 GHz, and the A72 is between 18-30% more power efficient than the A57.
ARM doesn’t actually make processors; instead, it licenses its core designs to companies such as Qualcomm. Qualcomm, in turn, put the cores in larger application processors like the octa-core Snapdragon 810.
Qualcomm is itself developing a new CPU core design for the forthcoming Snapdragon 820 processor. Qualcomm hopes using its own core will help differentiate the 820 from competing chip designs from the likes of Samsung and Intel.
ARM said it doesn’t expect to see the A72 reach consumer devices until 2016.
