Due to a brand new partnership between Google and Qualcomm, the panorama of Put on OS smartwatches goes to alter dramatically — within the subsequent few years, that’s. The 2 corporations have inked a deal to develop “a RISC-V-based wearables resolution” for smartwatches powered by Google’s wearable working system.
To place it within the easiest of phrases, anticipate a brand new wave of custom-designed processors primarily based on a completely completely different coding structure. The foremost goal, nevertheless, is to supply wearable silicon that sucks up much less energy, however presents larger efficiency. “This expanded framework will assist scale back time to marketplace for [manufacturers] when launching smartwatches with superior options,” Qualcomm provides in a press launch.
Proper now, all of the mainstream processors you discover in Put on OS smartwatches — similar to Qualcomm’s Put on sequence or Samsung’s Exynos portfolio — all depend on core designs supplied by British agency Arm. The corporate collects a licensing charge from its purchasers (Apple being considered one of them) and in addition lets them customise the core designs to their liking in return for added royalties.
RISC-V, being an open-source instruction set structure, just isn’t tied to any specific firm. This implies as soon as software program is created utilizing RISC-V, any firm can freely put it to use to design semiconductors. That is anticipated to have a major impression on the enlargement of the associated ecosystem.
Why RISC-V is a giant deal for Put on OS
Whereas price is certainly an incentive for present Put on OS ecosystem gamers to lookat a less expensive different, there are just a few extra points at play right here. Arm’s standing as an organization hasn’t been secure these days. Its blockbuster acquisition by Nvidia was foiled by regulators. Plus, Arm’s feud with Qualcomm is well-known, regardless of their deep partnership, particularly within the computing ecosystem.
Nevertheless, the most important advantage of adopting the RISC-V structure is its open-source nature. Which means not solely that the stakeholders get free actual property, however there gained’t be any obstacle to chip customizations. Put on OS watches aren’t with out their issues, particularly in relation to energy draw and battery effectivity.
This expanded framework will assist scale back time to marketplace for [manufacturers] when launching smartwatches with superior options.
One other main advantage of an open-source infrastructure is that it lowers the barrier for small and new gamers within the ecosystem, bringing extra aggressive gadgets to the desk and including to the range of choices for a median purchaser. There may be already some precedent for RISC-V within the Google ecosystem. In 2021, PLCT Lab managed as well Android on a 64-bit RISC-V core.
Giving the massive gamers, particularly the likes of Google and Qualcomm, a free hand might yield nice outcomes. Apple has already completed that inside the Arm ecosystem with not simply its iPhone and smartwatch chips, but it surely additionally efficiently reinvented the complete Mac silicon ecosystem to such an extent that it left the likes of Intel and AMD far behind.
The seeds have already been planted
The most recent partnership between Google and Qualcomm just isn’t fully surprising, nevertheless. The highest stakeholders within the wearable ecosystem – Google, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung – are already on the board of the RISC-V Software program Ecosystem (RISE) Venture. Championed by the Linux Basis, the RISE challenge goals to hurry up the event of a “strong software program ecosystem particularly for utility processors.”
In August 2023, Qualcomm joined with othe semiconductor gamers to ascertain an organization centered across the RISC-V ecosystem. The target is to “allow suitable RISC-V primarily based merchandise, present reference architectures, and assist set up options extensively used within the trade.” This new firm will deal with cell, the web of issues (IoT), and automotive segments.
Luckily, we have already got a glimpse into the longer term. California-based SiFive developed two high-performance RISC-V processors final yr which are focused at wearables, AR/VR, and IoT gadgets. Actually, Qualcomm and Samsung are already evaluating SiFive’s RISC-V processors for potential integration into their very own ecosystem of merchandise.
Digital Design notes that SiFive’s P670 already matches Arm’s Cortex-A78 core in efficiency, however in a package deal that’s half the dimensions. The P470 takes on the Cortex-A55, however goes for an much more compact profile and better power effectivity. Assume Silicon has additionally developed RISC-V-based GPU options focusing on smartwatches and AR/VR wearables.
A difficult, however rewarding highway forward
The longer term appears shiny, however a {hardware} ecosystem solely prospers with a rewarding software program ecosystem, and that’s the place Google has to play a vital function for RISC-V to succeed. Google has already introduced Android help for RISC-V with wearables, however to date, solely an emulator is in place.
The world of utility processors is notoriously complicated, and for RISC-V to make an enduring impression on the Put on OS ecosystem, it will take some daring strikes. Google can take some classes from Apple right here, because the latter labored intently with builders in its change away from Intel’s x86 structure and to the Arm ecosystem for the M-series processors for Mac.
The Put on OS world has a number of events that want to work intently collectively for RISC-V to succeed on wearables. Google and Samsung each have ample expertise with smartwatch software program, in addition to {custom} silicon, whereas Qualcomm has served as a silicon provider. The Google Pixel Watch 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 are nice examples of how good Put on OS watches are in the present day, and with this partnership, they solely stand to get higher.
As promising because it all sounds, the partnership might simply take just a few years to materialize. Google must make it easy for builders to port Put on OS app code to the RISC-V ecosystem, whereas the likes of Samsung and Qualcomm must work out the {hardware} technicalities.
On the finish of the day, it will take two to tango for Put on OS on RISC-V to materialize meaningfully. However the final query is: “How badly do Google and Qualcomm need it to succeed?” I, for one, am not fully offered on Google’s observe report with such commitments, however I’m additionally aching to see a vibrant smartwatch ecosystem take form within the close to future.
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