ARM Launches Cortex-R Processors

ARM announced its R5 and R7 MPCore processors.

The chips are designed to extend the architecture's footprint in mobile baseband environments (3G and 4G), mass storage applications as well as industrial and automotive markets - or the same market that Intel is targeting with its extended Atom processor strategy. According to ARM both the R5 and the R7 can be manufactured in single- and dual-core flavors.

The R5 is a successor to the previous R4 model with greater performance, while the R7 is pitched as a new model that "greatly extends the performance levels of the R-series beyond existing capabilities." ARM said that the new R-series is designed for low-power 28 nm semiconductor processes.

“The simultaneous launch of the Cortex-R5 MPCore and Cortex-R7 MPCore processors clearly delineates our leadership position as the architecture of choice for current and future mobile baseband and advanced storage applications, as well as building on our unparalleled position in the wider embedded market,” said Eric Schorn, ARM VP of processor marketing in a prepared statement. “These two advanced processors bring together more than 20 years of ARM expertise in low-power design with a host of new high-performance and real-time technologies which enables our Partners to future-proof their designs based on a single consistent architecture.”

The bottom line? ARM has a huge advantage in the markets Intel wants to conquer with its x86 chips.