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Arm's new Cortex CPUs and Mali GPUs will give 2022 Android flagships a substantial performance boost

By Anam Hamid

Published: May 25, 2021, 2:31 PM

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Arm's new Cortex CPUs and Mali GPUs will give 2022 Android flagships a substantial performance boost

British chip designer Arm, which licenses its chip-core architecture to companies that make chips, today announced new CPUs based on the Armv9 architecture that was revealed in March as well as GPUs to go with them.

Arm's new CPU cores: Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and Cortex-A510

First up, we have the Arm Cortex-X2 CPU, which succeeds last year's Cortex-X1 processing core. The X1 was part of the Cortex-X Custom Program which aims to help companies create differentiated and customized products for their specific use cases and takes a performance-first approach instead of pursuing a balance of performance, power, and area (PPA) - the constraints that somewhat restrict the Cortex-A cores.

The company claims that the Cortex-X2 delivers a 16 percent performance boost over the X1.

Next is the company's first Armv9 “big” CPU, the Cortex-A710. The mid-tier CPU promises 10 percent better performance and 30 percent improved efficiency compared to the Cortex-A78.

Arm has also finally launched a new “LITTLE” high-efficiency core, the Cortex-A510, which delivers 35 percent faster performance than the A55 that was revealed four years ago. The semiconductor firm claims that it's about as good as older “big” cores, which makes it ideal for affordable smartphones and wearable devices.

The big.LITTLE processor architecture allows smartphones to simultaneously and efficiently carry out high-intensity and low-intensity tasks. The “big” A cores provide higher levels of performance within the thermal design boundaries and the LITTLE cores are for executing background tasks without using a lot of power.

New v9-based chips with a tri-cluster CPU configuration similar to the Samsung Exynos 2100 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (one Cortex-X2 core + three Cortex-A710 cores + four Cortex-A510 cores) should be about 30 percent faster than current top performing Android flagships.

Arm’s new Mali GPUs

The Mali-G710 is the company's latest flagship GPU. It is 20 percent faster and 20 percent more energy-efficient than the previous generation and is meant for premium smartphones and Chromebooks. It's accompanied by a less costly but similar GPU called the Mali-G610. Then we have the Mali-G510, which is meant for mid-tier phones and offers a 100 percent speed boost and 22 percent efficiency gains.

The company has also introduced the Mali-G510 graphics core which brings the Valhall architecture to entry-level phones and wearables.

We can expect to see the first crop of Android smartphones and other products with chips based on Arm's new designs early next year.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.