Intel slams ARM for 'slow' iPhone CPU
Summary
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"The shortcomings of the iPhone are not because of Apple," Intel's director of ecosystems for its ultra-mobility group Pankaj Kedia said at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei, Taiwan. "The shortcomings of the iPhone have come from ARM."
The comment followed statements from Shane Wall, Intel's VP, mobility group and director strategic planning, platform architecture and software, ultra-mobility group, on the device's lack of oomph. "Any sort of application that requires any horse power at all and the iPhone struggles," he said.
He said that although Apple did try to tackle the internet and achieved a massive buzz due to, according to Wall, great user interface and Apple chief Steve Job's ability to sell, the hyped device fell short in a number of areas.
Kedia didn't just stop at the iPhone, claiming ARM was a malaise afflicting smartphones in general. "The smartphone of today is not very smart," he said. "The problem they have today is they use ARM."
The discussion came after Wall's keynote. "If you want to run full internet, you're going to have to run an Intel-based architecture," he had said, claiming that Intel processors achieved two to three times the performance of ARM equivalents.
Wall believed the situation was unlikely to change anytime soon, saying Intel was two years ahead of the rival company. He didn't believe fast, full internet would receive a debut with ARM-based devices in the near future. "Even if they do have full capability, the performance will be so poor," he said.
Kedia agreed. "I know what their roadmap is, I know where they're going and I'm not worried."
Suzanne Tindal traveled to Taipei as a guest of Intel.
Talkback Most Recent of 25 Talkback(s)
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Actually, for performance per watt, I am sure that Arm does much better
than Intel. With Intel, how much battery life would you have, or how big of a battery would you need to last 12 hours???
DonnieBoy22nd Oct 2008 -
Wow
Intel talks down the competition and it's news?
frgough22nd Oct 2008 -
The internet runs best on x86
ARM is a cellphone embedded architecture that has run simple GUI and primitive cellphone applications. Because it is cheap, it is being extended to run more complex and internet applications - and falling short.
Sure, Apple is racing to convert standard internet content to "iPhone compatible content" like Flickr and youtube but it's really about converting content written for PC's and dumbing them down to run on ARM.
Can they keep up? Doubtful. While ARM moves up in performance, Intel is moving down in power. Software wins and therefore, Intel wins. It's just a matter of time before x86 fits the power envelope of an iPhone formfactor.
Prognosticator22nd Oct 2008 -
Nonsense
I used to own a couple of ARM based computers and had no problems surfing the Internet at all, and the chips out performed they're Intel rival with ease as well.
soapietrekkers@...23rd Oct 2008 -
Intel would be a bad choice
if Apple went with an Intel based chip, the iPhone would overheat and have a shorter battery life. The ARM processor has improved dramatically. This guy is just venting off steam.
Maarek22nd Oct 2008 -
Actually, Arm is a much better architecture, the only thing Intel has going
for it is the x86 legacy, which matters most for Windows. With Linux it is not so relevant, but obviously the x86 repositories for Linux get a whole lot more attention as well.
I would actually love to see a dual core Arm laptop that I could use 12 hours on a charge.DonnieBoy22nd Oct 2008 -
Don't Blame ARM for Apple's Decisions
Wait-- who decided to use the ARM chip?? One would have to believe that it was someone at Apple that made that decision...
thx0113822nd Oct 2008 -
RE: ARM is not a manufacturer
Intel uses ARM in various applications.
ARM is not a manufacturer. They just license the
design.
dimdimitri22nd Oct 2008 -
What is the definition of "full internet".
I'm sure they are referring to having access to all the content that is available on the web however using the term "full internet" just sounds silly.
I heard someone on the Biggest Loser yesterday say "Trapezy thingy" to describe an aerial silk setup. Calling it a gymnastic drapery would have at least shown some intelligence. Oh, just a sign of our times and a perfect demonstration of our people's command of their own language.
Sorry for the rant. "Full internet" pushed me over the edge of tolerance for just a moment.
People22nd Oct 2008 -
Actually, "Full Internet"...
... means being able to run the Trojan du Jour, and be able to
subversively install monitoring software as decreed by
Microsoft/Department of Homeland Security.
grail@...23rd Oct 2008 -
Title should be: Intel whines that ARM has too much market share
That's really what's going on. ARM processors comprise a significant portion (if not a majority) of the processors in mobile devices. Intel wants that slice of the pie as more and more people migrate to using mobile devices instead of bulky laptops and desktops.
Letophoro22nd Oct 2008 -
People22nd Oct 2008
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RE: Intel slams ARM for 'slow' iPhone CPU
You're *SURE*? We need some specs to make any kind of determination like that. I'm not saying you're wrong, but just pulling that opinion out of thin air isn't helpful.
I was wondering the same thing, but I can't say for sure that "equivelent" Intel CPUs will use more power. Who knows? Maybe the use less power AND are faster? But I'm not going to say one way or the other without some documented specs.
I have been extremely disapointed in the lack of advancements in these devices. I got my first one in early 2002. It was 400Mhz. I just upgraded to the latest and greatest, and it too is 400Mhz... SIX YEARS LATER!!! I'm inclined to, at the very least, side with Intel. ARM has not made any noticable (or measurable) improvements in over half a decade. In the meantime, Intel desktop based CPUs continue to generally follow Moore's law.
Software Architect 198222nd Oct 2008 -
RE: Intel slams ARM for 'slow' iPhone CPU
1) Two sales reps. criticize their competitor. Really?
2) When they say "equivalents", say in what context. Clearly the ARM CPU which is equivalent in processing power would be just as fast. The ARM equivalent in power consumption (multi-cores?) would be much faster.
3) Intel chips may well be good & dominant in laptops/notebooks etc. where big batteries are only expected to last 2-6 hours. But I expect my truly mobile devices (phone, mp3, gps) to last at least a weekend of constant use and maybe a whole week of light use.
4) ARM have made many improvements that are not based on clock speed. I though everyone was over that marketing hype. The extra hardware & IP 'modules' for dealing with multimedia, wireless, 3D etc offer more real life performance benefits than an slight increase in clock speed.
5) The ARM core when embedded with a partner's DSP, WiFi, GPS, GPRS etc in a single piece of silicone smaller than Intel's core alone, offers the device manufacturers a significant cost saving that gets passed on to consumers.
Bottom line: They don't really compare (yet). Both are stretching their devices towards each other's dominant territory but at the moment, in the truly mobile device arena, ARM leads Intel by couple of years at least.
And ARM is eating into Intel's market at least as fast judging by the start of the NetBook revolution.
teotwawki-je23rd Oct 2008 -
FUD: ZDnet OUT of my newsfeed now
That does it. This story stinks of sales pitch so much and
presents so much half-truths.
And imagine the possibilities - misled customers
demanding Intel chips on their mobiles, manufacturers
complying to the demand.
Customers are suffering from very short talk-time. Fully
recharged handphone will be dead in about 3 hours time.
Customers became mad to their manufacturers. While Intel
is taking their sweet, sweet time to make the power usage
of its chips better.
That would suck so, very, much.
ZDnet has been consistent only on the quality of their
stories : total crap
I'm eliminating ZDnet from my feed.
Bye. You're not going to be missed.
zdnet.com@...23rd Oct 2008
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