“Apple got a new patent on something called a macroscalar processor this month,” Robin Harris reports for ZDNet.
“Apple is, among other things, a fabless semiconductor company. They design, but do not build, their own processors, such as the dual-core A5 in the iPad 2,” Harris reports. “The macroscalar architecture, well implemented, offers higher performance for a given clock-speed and lower energy consumption. Both are valuable in mobile devices.”
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Harris reports, “Since Apple provides its own compilers as well as designing CPUs, it is uniquely positioned to offer a complete macroscalar solution to its large band of iOS developers, further widening the price/performance gap between it and the iPad wannabes.”
“Is it a breakthrough? It could be if the efficiencies it promises can be realized in practice,” Harris reports. “We’ll have to see just how good Apple’s compiler engineers are.”
Much more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “krquet” for the heads up.]