Smartwatch-targeted Cortex-A35 is faster, more power-efficient than Cortex-A7
Everyone expects the Cortex-A72 chipsets to hit the market and break mobile performance barriers, but ARM has designed a core to serve the other side of the market – the low-power Cortex-A35.
Let's be clear – low-power here is about energy efficiency, at 1GHZ the A35 will draw just 90mW per core. It will be fast though, promising on average of 20% performance increase over the Cortex-A7 in 32-bit workloads.
The Cortex-A35 is an ARMv8-A core though, meaning it supports 64-bit software and has built-in encryption support.
Compared to the current 64-bit, low-power core of choice, the Cortex-A53, the new core will use 33% less power and will be cheaper since it occupies 25% less silicon. There's no word on the performance difference though.
ARM expects its partners to start shipping Cortex-A35 chipsets in late 2016 so it will be a while. Even in that late timeframe the cores will be built on the aging 28nm process, which will keep cost down but the power savings could have been much bigger.
![](https://fdn.gsmarena.com/imgroot/news/15/11/cortex-a35/-728/gsmarena_001.jpg)
MediaTek executive vice president and co-COO Jeffrey Ju was quoted "The ARM Cortex-A35 processor is welcomed by MediaTek for its scalability of the ARMv8-A architecture, which will enable us to continue to provide efficient and highly integrated 64-bit SoCs to global markets."
While multi-tiered chipsets will certainly benefit from the A35 (big.MEDIUM.LITTLE?), smartwatches will be quick to adopt the new core. Currently they use the old Cortex-A7 in Snapdragon 400 and MT2601.
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Reader comments
- AnonD-459470
- 12 Nov 2015
- fsV
we hope more power efficient SoC,therefore someone can experience 7days heavy duty phone in 2016.
- Anonymous
- 11 Nov 2015
- LFh
and i keep using a 600 MHZ chipset phone... i guess i'll change it for a watch with nano-sim slot or something
- Chris
- 11 Nov 2015
- 0m0
I'd love to see a chip deploy one or two of these in conjunction with a pair of a72's in a big.LITTLE configuration...4k video recording AND killer battery life!