Intel shows off new Atom processors
Intel has launched its new Atom CPUs for mobile devices at MWC 2014 and talked up its relationships with mobile manufacturers.
Intel has used its Mobile World Congress press conference to unveil two new 64-bit Atom processors and an LTE-Advanced modem, along with multi-year agreements to supply chips to device manufacturers.
The manufacturing deals — currently with Asus, Lenovo, Dell and Foxconn — will see a variety of both Android and Windows tablets and smartphones running on Intel. The Foxconn deal in particular is aimed at driving the production of high-quality, affordable Intel-based Android tablets.
The new 64-bit Atom processor, previously codenamed Merrifield, is based on Intel's 22 nanometre Silvermont microarchitecture and runs at 2.13GHz. It will be the first chip to feature Intel's "Integrated Sensor Solution" that manages data from a device's sensors even when in a low power state.
Intel talked about its next-generation 64-bit processor codenamed Moorefield. It expands on the Merrifield chip, adding two additional cores for up to 2.3GHz of power, and is expected to be in devices in the second half of the year.
Intel also unveiled its XMM 7260 LTE-Advanced mobile modem. The XMM 7260 is certified to run on 70 per cent of LTE networks globally and can provide theoretical peak speeds of up to 300Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. Intel says that companies planning to use the chip include Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo and Samsung. Intel later confirmed to CNET that some models of the Samsung Galaxy S5 would use Intel LTE modems. Although the specific models weren't named, it's fairly safe to assume they'll be using Samsung's Exynos processors rather than the Qualcomm. (This also means that we're unlikely to see them in Australia, based on Samsung's history with Galaxy S variants.)
"With this, we prepare the world for an even faster, even richer application processor experience," Hermann Eul, the executive in charge of Intel's mobile business. "That's what we mean when we talk about 'look inside'."
According to Eul, Intel's current road map with manufacturing partners would see 78 tablets using the company's processors.