Renesas, x86 take back seat to ARM in 32- and 64-bit microcontrollers, embedded microprocessors
Patrick Mannion, Director of Content -- EDN, October 6, 2011
Given the accelerating number of ARM-based design wins, particularly in mobile applications, it’s no surprise that a new Semicast report marks ARM’s dominance, just days after Kontron announced that it was adopting ARM across the board. What is surprising, however, is the report’s other conclusion: Freescale has overtaken Renesas. In Semicast’s 2011 edition of its study of 32- and 64-bit microcontrollers, embedded microprocessors, and DSPs, ARM surpassed the x64/x86 and Power Architecture; over 2010 to 2016, it should enjoy the highest growth, with x64/x86 remaining the leading challenger (Reference 1). Semicast expects revenue for 32- and 64-bit microcontrollers and embedded microprocessors to grow from $8.3 billion in 2010 to $19.8 billion in 2016, a compound annual growth rate of 15.6%.Kontron recently announced plans to augment its x86 lineup with a broad range of boards, single-board computers, tablets, and industrial-PC units using the ARM architecture. Kontron’s move is all about power and cost; the company claims that it can now easily port current and new products between RISC (reduced-instruction-set-computer) and CISC (complex-instruction-set-computer) architectures. The processor architecture is becoming less relevant as a decision criterion. Instead, price, power consumption, and performance per watt are now among the most important factors, according to Dirk Finstel, chief technology officer of Kontron. Kontron plans to develop ARM SOC (system-on-chip)-based computer modules with extensive support, including services such as customization, driver adoption, and porting of applications.
In Semicast’s report, the writers lay out the competitive field. In 32-bit microcontrollers, the ARM architecture primarily competes against products employing Coldfire, Power Architecture, SuperH, and V850, with automotive and industrial the key markets in 2010. In 32/64-bit embedded microprocessors, the ARM architecture held a market share of less than 10% in 2010, with x64/x86 the leading architecture. ARM licensees have also started to compete in the market for 32/64-bit embedded microprocessors with products using the A8 and A9 cores but face strong competition from established suppliers such as AMD, AppliedMicro, Cavium, Freescale, Intel, and PMC-Sierra.
Microsoft’s announcement that both the x64/x86 and ARM architectures will support Windows 8 may have only a minor impact on this market until the late stages of the forecast period but will have significant implications over the long term. “Semicast judges that this announcement will weaken the stranglehold that the x64/x86 architecture has on applications that historically have been developed to be run on Microsoft Windows, thus opening up yet more designs wins to run on ARM,” says Colin Barnden, principal analyst at Semicast Research and an author of the study.
Semicast deems Freescale the leading supplier of 32- and 64-bit microcontrollers and embedded microprocessors in 2010, ahead of Intel and Renesas. Freescale’s offerings in this market include ARM, Coldfire, and Power Architecture products, whereas Renesas supports SuperH, V850, H8SX, M32, R32, and RX.
So, if you’ve opted for ARM, go forth and design in peace. You’re not alone. If you’ve done so, please let us know your thoughts.
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