Intel Dismisses 'x86 Tax', Sees No Future For ARM 406
MrSeb writes "In an interview with ExtremeTech, Mike Bell — Intel's new mobile chief, previously of Apple and Palm — has completely dismissed the decades-old theory that x86 is less power efficient than ARM. 'There is nothing in the instruction set that is more or less energy efficient than any other instruction set,' Bell says. 'I see no data that supports the claims that ARM is more efficient.' The interview also covers Intel's inherent tech advantage over ARM and the foundries ('There are very few companies on Earth who have the capabilities we've talked about, and going forward I don't think anyone will be able to match us' Bell says), the age-old argument that Intel can't compete on price, and whether Apple will eventually move its iOS products from ARM to x86, just like it moved its Macs from Power to x86 in 2005."
Re:He's mostly right (Score:4, Funny)
You can't easily interchange ARM and Thumb without making a function call.
ARMs weakness lies in the ELBOW implementation. Whereas Thumb is opposable to 4finGer which some see as a strength, but I find that the pinKey shadow architecture complements Thumb nicely with hAnd holding the whole set together in a CRISP burrito.