ARM Has No Immediate Plans for 64-Bit Chips - Chief Exec

From X-bit Labs: Even though ARM Holdings, which architecture powers microprocessors inside the vast majority of mobile phones, is trying to enter the market of servers, the company does not seem to have plans to add a crucial feature for such systems: 64-bit capability.

"Some applications which run on service rely on 64 bit. Some rely on 40-bit addressing and that is built into Cortex-A15. Whilst Cortex-A15 is a 32-bit processor, it has the extended addressing. There are certainly server applications today for which 64-bit or lack of 64-bit is not a barrier. [...] We are not in the business of announcing our 64-bit products today. But it’s logical to suppose that at some stage in the future, ARM will extend its architecture in that direction," said Warren East, chief executive officer of ARM, during a conference call with financial analysts.

Server microprocessors of today are all 64-bit capable and so is the software. As a result, underestimation of importance of 64-bit capability seems to be more than short-sighted. Moreover, considering the fact that ARM does not seem to have immediate plans for a 64-bit architecture, it looks like the firm also does not have a priority to server market. In fact, this is not truly surprising, keeping in mind the performance of mobile chip market.

"It would certainly be helpful as and when we have those sorts of products. But right now, we are not ready to talk about those sorts of products and then large chunk of the server market is available with the product roadmap that we have," added Mr. East.

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