Energy-efficient ARM chip prolongs smartphone battery life 70%

By Posted 20 Oct 2011, 16:31

When it comes to new generation smartphones, improvements that are being made represent great advancements from their predecessors. With all the technology that these devices have packed into them, it is inevitable that the battery life suffers. ARM believes they have designed a chip that is so energy efficient it will power smartphones while prolonging their battery life by 70%.

This means that the new chip will offer up to five times more battery life than before. The Cambridge based company says that in 2013 we will see cheaper smartphones that include longer battery lives. They believe these devices could cost as little as $100 by then, due to more energy efficient designs.

According to the Guardian, the technology has already received several manufacturers signed up for it including Texas Instruments, ST-Ericsson, Sprint, Samsung, LG Electronics and more. Even Apple has the license to build and use chips with ARM technology in their iOS devices, although the company was not allowed to say whether they had actually signed up to use it too.

ARM provides the chips for the majority of the smartphones and tablets on the market. The chip they believe could be so revolutionary in 2013 is their Cortex-A7 processor, their most energy efficient design yet. The reason their design is so successful is because it prioritized low battery demand rather than huge power output and ended up with both.

The company’s Chief Executive, Warren East, admits that in terms of processing power the new ARM design will not offer much more than what is on offer from the high-end smartphones on the market today. That means in a couple of year the technology will be lower-end and therefore cheaper, yet will still provide the power needed for a decent smartphone. Will you be looking for the cheapest smartphone or best that money can buy in 2013?