ARM’s Cortex-X3, Cortex-A715, Refreshed Cortex-A510 CPU Cores Bring Faster Performance, Better Efficiency

Last year, ARM scrapped its ARMv8 architecture and introduced the new ARMv9 architecture, focusing solely on 64-bit operations. The Cortex-X2, Cortex-A710, and the Cortex-A510 were introduced back in 2021 and were the first cores to be based on the ARMv9 architecture. Now, ARM has introduced the more powerful Cortex-X3, Cortex-A715, and refreshed Cortex-A510 cores utilising the latest architecture.  

ARM’s New High-Performance Cores: Highlights

The Cortex-X3 will be used as a prime core in smartphone processors and is built for peak performance. According to ARM, the new Cortex-X3 core will offer an 11 percent performance uplift over the previous Cortex-X2 core, when built on the same process and identical clock speeds. However, when the Cortex-X3 cores will be built on the upcoming 3nm fabrication process, the performance gains could reach up to 25 percent over the previous iteration. 

The Cortex-A715 succeeds the Cortex-A710 mid-core of 2021. Improving the power efficiency was a priority while developing the new Cortex-A715 core. ARM claims that the new core is 20 percent more energy efficient. They will also come with a modest five percent performance uplift when compared to the Cortex-A710 core. Last year’s energy-efficient core, the Cortex-A510, has been refreshed to deliver up to five percent improved power efficiency. Also, we could see them with higher clock speeds in certain applications. 

ARM says a total compute solution comprising of the Cortex-X3 core cubbed with the Cortex-A715 and Cortex-A510, plus an Immortalis-G715 GPU can deliver a massive 28 percent improvement in performance, 16 percent energy efficiency, and 23 percent reduced DRAM traffic. These premium solutions will be used in flagship smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops starting from early 2023.

Qualcomm will be hosting a 2022 Snapdragon Summit in November 2022, where it is expected to unveil its new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship processor. It is rumoured to be built on TSMC’s 4nm fabrication process, same as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU. However, it will reportedly pack in the new Cortex-X3 super core, two Cortex-A715 mid-cores, two older Cortex-A710 cores, and three refreshed Cortex-A510 cores. Xiaomi is expected to bring out its devices with this latest chipset by November. That’s when we will see the new ARM cores in action.