Arm announced its new "platform" for mobile computing at Computex 2023 -- the TSC23. This system-on-a-chip includes the powerful Armv9 Cortex X4 CPU core and the balanced Cortex A720 cores. It also contains the Immortalis G720 GPU. The company announced slightly less powerful GPUs and CPUs for more affordable devices.
The cluster contains two Cortex X4 cores that are capable of handling the most demanding tasks. They are 15% faster and use 40% less power than previous-generation Cortex-X3 chips. The four Cortex A720 cores balance energy consumption and performance and are 20% more efficient than the A715 Cores. Two Cortex-A520 Cores complete the cluster and are used for tasks that require little power. Arm claims that this is the "most efficient high-performance core ever", with 22% greater power efficiency than the A515 core.
Arm also announced a powerful GPU architecture for mobile phones called the Immortalis G720. The company claims that it will offer 15% higher performance than the previous generations and 40% less memory bandwidth consumption. It's a powerful upgrade from last year's Immortalis G715, which was the first for the company to offer hardware acceleration of ray tracing.
The company did not reveal which phones or chipsets will use this new hardware but it did make it clear that the platform is designed for high-end flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy 23 Ultra. It makes sense that, since Qualcomm uses Arm Cortex-X3 for its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, Arm's new Cores could be used to build the next-generation Qualcomm Chip (ostensibly 8 Gen 3). We can expect to hear more about Qualcomm's 2024 mobile processor in November, even though Qualcomm hasn’t announced a commitment towards Arm's cores.
The Mali G720 and Mali G620 GPUs announced by Arm today are intended to bring "premium features and capabilities to a wider audience."These GPUs will likely be used for affordable flagships like the OnePlus 11 to boost their gaming capabilities. We'll have to see which companies include these GPUs in their systems on a chip.
Arm claims that future smartphone users can expect improved high-geometry gaming, better in-game lighting, and more realistic 3D Animations. However, these benefits will be dependent on chipmakers and device makers putting them to full use.
