Abstract
- Qualcomm and Google are collaborating on a RISC-V Snapdragon Put on platform for Put on OS smartwatches, aiming to cut back time-to-market for OEMs and supply superior options.
- Google has been actively working to combine RISC-V help into AOSP, however full integration will not be but achieved.
- The collaboration between Qualcomm and Google within the RISC-V ecosystem raises uncertainties, particularly with ARM’s evolving enterprise mannequin, as ARM is a significant participant in semiconductor design.
Open-source has lengthy been touted as a revolution within the tech trade. Enter RISC-V, an open-source instruction set structure that promotes innovation by permitting any entity to craft bespoke cores. This encourages an inflow of gamers into the market, fostering innovation and competitors, and ostensibly benefiting everybody from silicon distributors to the top customers.
Such is the case with Qualcomm and Google, who just lately made headlines by saying their collaboration on a RISC-V Snapdragon Put on platform for Put on OS smartwatches. This partnership, set towards the broader context of chipset structure developments and evolving enterprise fashions, might herald a brand new period for wearables.
Google’s eager curiosity in RISC-V is not new. The corporate has made it a high-priority structure for Android, putting it on a pedestal akin to ARMv8. As Mishaal Rahman factors out, Google’s work in direction of integrating RISC-V help into AOSP is ongoing, with present developments together with Cuttlefish digital machine and ART help. Though there’s progress with the shell and command-line instruments, full integration is not realized but.
Qualcomm’s alliance with Google is not a maiden voyage. As we lined beforehand, the search large just lately switched to a Snapdragon chip in its Pixel Watch 2, and plenty of are crediting this transfer for the brand new mannequin’s improved battery life after the first-gen Pixel Watch used a Samsung Exynos SoC.
This new enterprise seeks to construct upon their established camaraderie, aiming to cut back the time-to-market for OEMs. It guarantees superior options, corresponding to customized cores, improved energy effectivity, and enhanced efficiency for Put on OS. Nonetheless, previous collaborations do not essentially assure future successes. With the combination of the RISC-V structure into the Put on OS ecosystem being a comparatively uncharted territory, there is a realm of uncertainties that would play out.
An intriguing backdrop to this collaboration is that SoftBank-owned ARM, a significant participant in semiconductor design, has simply accomplished its IPO. Whereas gearing up to take action, ARM intends to utterly revamp the licensing scheme for its structure — a problem that should not plague RISC-V because of its open supply nature. Given ARM’s dominance, its income restructuring might considerably impression the dynamics of the tech world. With Qualcomm historically being a licensee of ARM’s designs, it’s going to be fascinating to see how its enterprise into the RISC-V ecosystem dovetails with ARM’s evolving enterprise mannequin.
Whereas Qualcomm and Google’s collaboration on the RISC-V Put on OS platform guarantees a brand new horizon for wearables, it is important to be pragmatic. Between Google’s ongoing efforts to totally combine RISC-V into AOSP, Qualcomm’s broader technique, and ARM’s altering enterprise dynamics, the end result is nebulous.
