Even though the first mainstream 64-bit mobile processor was only launched towards the end of 2013, new figures from ABI Research show this type of chip will dominate the mobile market within the next five years.
Apple’s 64-bit A7 processor had been shipped in more than 36 million iPhones and iPads within the first three months of launch. It was followed by Intel, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Nvidia all announcing their first 64-bit mobile processors at Mobile World Congress 2014.
However, ABI says these are unlikely to be available in smartphones before the release of the next Android update. As a result, only 20% of the anticipated 182 million 64-bit mobile processors shipped in 2014 are expected to power Android devices.
Shipments of 64-bit processors for smartphones and tablets in 2018 forecast to exceed 1.12 billion units, which is 55% of the total market. 60% of these devices will run Android, followed by the Apple iOS with 30% and Microsoft Windows with less than 9% market share.
Malik Saadi, practice director at ABI Research, said “A number of early adopters will initially use 64-bit as a catchy marketing strategy to easily communicate differentiation using ‘more-is-better’ adage previously used for promoting performance in the multi-core processor race. This is not to say that 64-bit processing will not add any significant value to the Android sphere but the benefits of this technology will become apparent only when its implementation over Android matures.”
[ABI Research Mobile Device Semiconductors Research Service]