Intel says Android not multi-core processor ready, blames SoCs for it
Now here’s something new! Intel has claimed that SoC vendors have done little to optimize Android for multi-core processors. This statement was made after Intel ran some internal tests which showed that multi-core processors made the phone slower than an single core processor.
If you take a look a lot of handsets on the market, when you turn on the second core or having the second core there [on die], the [current] leakage is high enough and their power threshold is low enough because of the size of the case that it isn’t entirely clear you get much of a benefit to turning the second core on. We ran our own numbers and [in] some of the use cases we’ve seen, having a second core is actually a detriment, because of the way some of the people have not implemented their thread scheduling.
Intel’s GM at the Mobile and Telecommunications Group, Adam bell has been quoted above with regards to multi-core processors and their performance.
Bell also goes on to say that he is not sure as to how the multi-core setup helps the manufacturers as the improvement isn’t obvious to him.
I’ve taken a look at the multiple core implementations in the market, and frankly, in a thermal and/or power constrained environment – what has been implemented – it isn’t obvious to me you really get the advantage for the size and the cost of what’s going into that part,
Bell does go on and says that Android in its current format isn’t designed to take full advantage of the multi-core setup and he then blames the SoC vendors for not doing enough at their end to make the multi-core setup work. He also goes on to say that these SoC manufacturers and Intel need to work alongside on sorting this out.
With Intel entering the arena with its own Medfield processor [single core processor currently found in the Xolo 900], it faces the risk of competition against the more established manufacturers and their multi-core SoCs. Intel wants to make its entry count and it seems that this time they are ready to take on Qualcomm and Nvidia. Intel has not made it clear when it will reveal it’s multi-core setup but it is clear that they are working mat making their chip compliant and efficient at handling Android better than competition.
About author:
Aditya Singhvi is the Editor in Chief and the man behind World of Phones. He loves mobile phones and can never get enough of them. He’s known for using too many phones and numbers at the same time. He is absolutely content with having more than 2 cell phones with him.
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