Apple's A7 Mobile Processor sets off panic' for chipmakers

    Apple caught market-leading mobile chip-makers off guard when Apple debuted the 64-bit 'desktop-class' A7 system-on-a-chip (SOC) alongside the iPhone 5S in September, a move one Qualcomm insider says put the industry in panic mode.

    In a report from Dan Lyons' blog HubSpot, an unnamed source at chip-making giant Qualcomm said Apple's A7 "hit us in the gut," referring to the silicon's support for 64-bit processing.

    "We were slack-jawed, and stunned, and unprepared. It's not that big a performance difference right now, since most current software won't benefit. But in Spinal Tap terms it's like, 32 more, and now everyone wants it." 

     Apple's A7 SoC is the first 64-bit application processor to be used in a smartphone. Not until the launch of the iPhone 5S, the companies didn't see the need to include such advanced technology on a processor for a handheld device as apps were not able to take advantage of the extra horsepower. Only a few programs outside of Apple's own stable are capable of addressing the technology.



via Apple Insider