Although at the moment ARM is the undisputed leader in the smartphone segment, the architecture RISC-V could start to get complicated in the medium term. Not in the short, of course, because although the technology sector is moving at a heart attack speed in many aspects, in these types of changes, which involve enormous work and the assumption of certain risks, the movements slow down substantially and, consequently, any A step forward in that sense is of great importance, since it points us to evolution in that sense.
AND it seems that 2022 could be quite an important year in this regard, since as we can read in Notebookcheck The first RISC-V-based smartphones could debut on the market next year. No brands or models are mentioned, but there are multiple signs that point in that direction. Now, the same voices that speak of this possibility also suggest that as a consequence of the shortage of chips, this could be delayed until 2023.
Be that as it may, that is to say, 2022 or 2023, what seems clearer every day is that the expected debut of RISC-V is already close, and most likely, once its effectiveness has been proven by the first manufacturers to be Dare to jump, let’s see some very interesting moves from the rest of the industry. And it is that, as we already told you a few weeks ago, the level of maturity reached by this free architecture is already in a position to compete with ARMThe key difference in these circumstances is that manufacturers do not have to make license fees to use their designs.
Although in that publication, as I indicated before, there is no mention of manufacturers, there are already some who have shown quite an interest in RISC-V. For example, in May of this year we learned of Huawei’s interest in this technology and more closely, in September, we analyzed the reasons why Apple was also interested in adopting this architecture. In both companies, the motivations are different (although saving in licenses is a reason that interests everyone) but in all cases that their interest has already transcended is a sign that it is something that must have been maturing for some time.
Do not wait, that yes, that RISC-V debuts in the sector of smartphones in the high-end. It is true that it can already offer a remarkable performance, but still not up to the top of the range of Qualcomm, MediaTek, and so on. Most likely, the debut will take place in the mid-range, or perhaps even in the entry-level, in which the cost reduction by not having to pay licenses to ARM will mean, for these manufacturers, a certain competitive advantage.
