How Qualcomm's Oryon Processor Could Be the Ideal Counter...

How Qualcomm's Oryon Processor Could Be the Ideal Counter to Apple's M1/2

By Rob Enderle

This week was Qualcomm’s annual summit in Hawaii, and for once I’m not there, which is kind of a shame because it’s really cold where I live right now. However, on paper, the Qualcomm Oryon processor due next year could be the perfect competitive answer to Apple’s M1/2 if Intel’s coming little core/big core effort is late to market, which seems likely given Intel is undergoing a large layoff.

Oryon is based on Nuvia technology that has been somewhat problematic given ARM is suing Qualcomm for using the technology in what appears to be a suicidal effort designed to cripple this potential Apple competitor. But if launched successfully as expected in 2024, this processor could be a huge game changer.Of course, it will run not only against the latest processors from folks like AMD and Intel but also against some of the coming RISC V parts also expected at that time. ARM’s hostile actions could still cost both ARM and Qualcomm any chance of succeeding which is foolish on ARM’s part given that the license Qualcomm has for ARM does appear to cover the product. There is only one thing worse than suing a large client, and that is losing when you do so. Because of Qualcomm’s relatively strong position, it seems likely ARM is on the wrong side of the fence, both legally and competitively.

Let’s talk about how this coming battle is likely to play out.

Processor Wars

Currently, Apple is the ARM champion for PCs. Its M1/2 effort has been very successful as the company moved from Intel to ARM for its latest PC processors. In general, these processors have been holding up, thanks mostly to Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem. For Windows-based PCs, X86 and Intel are still kings, though AMD has been beating Intel regularly of late in performance. At the high end, the two companies remain competitive against each other across both mobile and desktop designs while Intel continues to lead on overall design wins.

Read the full article on TG Daily

About Rob Enderle
An Internet search of media quotes validates Rob Enderle as one of the most influential technology pundits in the world. Leveraging world-class IT industry analysis skills honed at DataQuest, Giga Information Group, and Forrester Research, Rob seized upon the power of the information channel as a conduit to reach business strategists and deliver valuable, experienced-based insight on how to leverage industry advances for maximum business advantage.