Has Intel Really Beaten ARM?

Jim McGregor
7/10/2013 07:45 AM EDT

There has been a considerable amount of press around recent AnTuTu benchmark results and a recent ABI Research report claiming, "Intel apps processor [the Atom Z2580] outperforms Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Samsung."

This blanket statement essentially proclaims that Intel has surpassed the entire ARM ecosystem in mobile processors for the all-important high-end smartphone segment. Normally, I would not comment on information or comments from other analyst firms, but in this case, something seems odd.

Evaluating current mobile processors is a challenging effort. These processors are more aptly referred to as systems-on-chips (SoCs) because they are much more than the CPUs common to PCs. These processors are complex systems of heterogeneous processing elements combined with memory, I/O, high-speed networks, communications modems, and a host of other dedicated system functions. This alone makes comparison based on specifications difficult.

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