Intel Corp (INTC)

[mas]

In what way would this serve to cut Intel off from non-Windows mobile devices "probably forever?" ARM compatibility on Android, especially in high performance native applications, is still superior to x86 compatibility (although Intel has seemingly done a good job of trying to tackle such compatibility issues).

Android software vendors would just stop developing/porting their code to x86. That means no future chance of Atom or even Core being in mainstream phones ever again just on software grounds. Really, is that what you are advocating for the very short-term gains promised in that article especially after all the heavy lifting Intel did to get Android developers interested in x86 ?


Atom CPU cores are not smaller than competing ARM cores, even when Atom has a process advantage, so the Atom CPU cores are not inherently "cheaper."

There is not much in it and anyway the cores are not usually the biggest part of the SoC, the gpu is which is also other Intel IP that would be discarded in your suggestion. Once the 14nm Sofias are here Intel's mobile strategy will make more sense i.e. mostly Intel IP made on Intel's own FABs to give unbeatable and profitable performance/price. In your way Intel's modem would be left to market forces as well as the gpu as a byproduct of ditching Intel IP and just picking the perceived, to you, best.


moving to higher performance ARM cores that take roughly the same die space would in this case only serve to enhance the "performance" portion of the performance/price equation -- allowing it to maximize its revenue/profit per chip.

at the cost of strengthening a rival hardware/software ecosystem which will have a far more counter-productive effect in the long run. Do you really want Intel's leading-edge FABs to be used for this purpose ? That's a defeatist strategy against a multi-headed set of rivals whose main expansionist aim is to take Intel's rich PC/Server profit dollars. Don't forget, Intel x86 android strategy has already forced some ARM vendors to get out of the generic tablet business and they need the business more than Intel.


In terms of performance/watt, A57 has proven itself to fit nicely into a mobile power envelope while offering better performance than Silvermont on both Samsung 20nm and Samsung 14nm.

A57 because of throttling issues hardly seems any better than A15/Silvermont at least at 20nm. It is not a quantum jump over either in mobility environments which is why A72 was developed.