From DailyTech: ARM Holdings Plc (LON:ARM) is pushing hard for chipmakers to switch to the 64-bit ARMv8-A instruction set to help it with its fledgling server market push. As a result it appeared to temporarily freeze 32-bit releases, funneling useful technology into 64-bit cores -- namely the Cortex-A53 and A57.
But ARM has relented somewhat, announcing this week a new 32-bit core dubbed the ARM Cortex-A17. The Cortex-A17 is the direct successor of last year's Cortex-A12. Alternatively, it could be viewed as the new high end of the 32-bit lineup, although it lacks some of the capabilities of the 32-bit Cortex-A15.
When clocked the same, produced on the same process, and packing the same memory interface, a Cortex-A17-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) is expected to be 60 percent more efficient that the Cortex-A9r4, the predecessor to the Cortex-A12. The Cortex-A12 was billed as 40 percent more efficient than the Cortex-A9r4, so that suggests that the core is about 15 percent more efficient than the Cortex-A12.
The die size is expected to remain similar to the Cortex-A12, although it's capable of scaling down to much smaller nodes -- 14/16 nm according to an ARM slide.
Interestingly, a slide from ARM suggests that a new architecture (instruction-set-wise) is expected to land every 3-4 years. If that's accurate, ARMv7-A has overstayed its welcome. ARMv7-A debuted in 2011, so we'd expect it to be gone by next year at the latest. But with the 32-bit ARMv7-A Cortex-A17, it seems ARM Holdings plans on clinging to 32-bit on the mid-range for a bit longer.
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