Intel details ultra-small Quark processor family for wearable devices

Upcoming SoC will be one fifth the size of Intel's Atom chips and 10 times more efficient

SAN FRANCISCO: Intel disclosed that it is working on an ultra-small system on a chip (SoC) family for wearable technology, which is said to be one fifth of the size of the firm's current Atom processor and uses a tenth of the power.

Announced by CEO Brian Krzanich at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, the Quark SoC is in development and should appear in shipping products such as smartwatches and bracelets next year.

"[Quark] is fully synthesisable with an open architecture and open ecosystem. It is designed for the Internet of Things. This is just an example of the silicon innovation that's going on inside of Intel," Krzanich said, adding that the firm has already started work on reference designs.

Krzanich explained that the chip will be all about wearable devices, saying that the firm has been working on wearable technology and has reference designs with different form factors.

"These are reference designs, ready to go to our developer community and out into industry. Because this device is fully synthesisable, if companies have their own intellectual property they want to put into the silicon, we can support that. This is truly designed for this open environment," he added.

Intel will not necessarily bring the end products to market, but the idea is to come up with devices that partners could use to develop their own products in an open ecosystem.

Intel said it has built reference designs to find out what the customer really needs, so it can bring products to market with apps all ready to go. "You can only do that if you have the reference designs," Krzanich said.

Krzanich's appearance at IDF was his first public performance as CEO, along with the new president, Renee James. Intel announced Krzanich's promotion from COO earlier this year, succeeding Paul Otellini.