Chip designer ARM unveiled a new processor blueprint on Tuesday with improved computing performance and beefed-up graphics aimed at smartphones and tablets to be launched next year.
ARM's new Cortex-A72 processor design and related technology improvements come as the smartphone industry struggles with cooling demand after years of explosive growth sparked by Apple's iPhone in 2007.
Investors are concerned about lower royalty rates for ARM as growth in the smartphone market shifts to China, where consumers typically buy devices priced at US$200 or less, compared with more than US$600 in the United States.
Rather than making its own chips, ARM licenses its processor technology to other semiconductor companies, including Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics, as well as to Apple. It receives royalties based on the selling prices of chips shipped by its partners.
ARM's new processor had 3.5 times the performance of comparable chips from last year, executives said in San Francisco.
The chip design would also deliver a 75 per cent reduction in energy use, helping reduce battery drain on smartphones, they said.