ARM launches Cortex-R8 CPU to power future 5G modems and IoT devices

Quad-core chip architecture is double the speed of its predecessor

ARM has announced the Cortex-R8 processor targeting low-latency and high-performance chips for modem and mass storage devices.

The CPU is claimed to have twice the power of its predecessor, the Cortex-R7, and comprises four cores coupled with low-latency memory that can deliver up to 2MB per core.

ARM is positioning the Cortex-R8 for use with devices that use system-on-a-chip (SoC) architectures, such as smartphones, car technology and IoT devices.
ARM is also aiming the Cortex-R8 at next-generation 5G and LTE modems.

The GPU has superscalar out-of-order execution capabilities, enabling the code being crunched by the four cores to react to interrupts in a deterministic way.

Essentially, the processor responds to changing demands and prioritises critical tasks when running real-time applications.

This means faster downloads and in/out data access between storage and CPUs found in smartphones, tablets and devices such as routers that make use of SoCs.

The Cortex-R8 is also compatible with existing software which, according to ARM, provides developers with a faster way to integrate the new CPU into real-time processing products and reduces complex design cycles.

James McNiven, general manager at ARM's CPU Group, claimed that the Cortex-R8 will be instrumental in the development of 5G modems, but suggested that the CPU has the scope for much wider use.

"It will form the communications heart of future smartphones, tablets, connected cars and the IoT," he said.

ARM processors and SoCs based on its CPU architecture are no stranger to the mobile and modem hardware market.

The Cambridge-based company said that its CPU architecture forms the backbone of more that 20 billion cellular devices worldwide, and that 1.4 billion Cortex-R processors have found their way into data storage devices and in the SoC hardware used by major hard and solid state disk drive suppliers.

ARM may be ramping up its Cortex-R range for near-future modems and the IoT, but the firm could also be poised to make a play for the server market.

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