Opinion: No one needs an x86 laptop when ARM chips are this darn good
Most of us probably don’t think too often about the chips that power our smartphones, tablets, and computers. But even as discreet as these tiny hunks of silicon may be, a silent war has waged to replace the architecture of yesteryear with a powerful alternative that offers extreme performance, wildly better battery life, and less heat output. Here’s a quick Look at how ARM chips are ripe to overtake the tech world.
What (or who) is ARM?
ARM — or Advanced RISC Machines Ltd — was a company founded in 1990 as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple, and a group that now goes by the name NXP Semiconductors N.V. Led by 12 designers, the ARM computer chip architecture was created and launched in the first consumer product just three years later — the Apple Newton.
Although Apple’s first PDA was ultimately a critical failure, it proved that ARM’s blend of power efficiency and performance was a perfect fit for mobile devices in lieu of much more demanding chips built on Intel’s x86 architecture. Fast forward to the launch of iPhone in 2007 (and Android, thereafter), and ARM would go on to play a crucial role in the evolution of mobile tech as we know it today.
