Arm, the UK company behind the core design used in millions chips that power devices worldwide, is apparently planning to get into the CPU-designing game itself. This speculation comes from a report showing that not only is the company planning on competing with its own customers but jacking up prices by up to 300% too.
While Arm licenses its core CPU technology to other companies, it largely doesn’t actually design its own complete chips. Instead, its tech is incorporated into processors made by the likes of Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. We saw the latter launch its new Snapdragon X laptop CPUs just recently, and while they made quite a splash, we’re still some way from the best gaming PCs making the switch to Arm just yet. However, new rumors indicate that Nvidia is going to be stepping into the space and Arm is clearly bullish about the prospect of its own designs too.
If Arm begins to work in the chip-making space, it could upend quite a lot across computing. In the words of Arm CEO Rene Haas, “[The] rest are hosed”. It would mean that a lot of companies, despite having “legacy agreements”, would need to quickly pivot to avoid funding their direct competitor.
The aspect that could impact customers is the 300% price hike. As is usually the case when something affects price, the customer is likely to be the one who ultimately suffers.
Speaking with Reuters for the original report, an analyst said that it should send “a chill down the spine of their customers.” However, it’s not clear if he’s talking about business customers or regular customers.
On the gaming front, it could drastically change the portable market. Phones, handhelds, and mini PCs that plan to use chips such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite or 8 Gen 3 could potentially skip over the middleman. Instead, Arm would supply the chips directly.
We’re already seeing the effects of Arm and its licensing power right now. Qualcomm recently won its battle against the chip giant in a license dispute. If Arm had won, Qualcomm would have potentially been stripped of its licensing. While it did win, companies like Samsung have already reduced contracts to avoid any further supply chain disruptions.
In 2021, Nvidia was blocked from buying up Arm by the UK government. Since then, Nvidia has apparently been hard at work on its own Arm chip, as seen in its AI development box. “Grace CPU” is a 20-core Arm chip, made in conjunction with MediaTek.
While even the best handheld gaming PCs and console gaming aren’t on Arm just yet, companies are getting prepared. Valve, makers of the excellent Steam Deck and Proton translation layer for Linux to play Windows games on the OS, have already been spotted working on an Arm version. Microsoft is also pushing Arm devices, with its Qualcomm-powered laptops. Of course, Apple ditched Intel entirely in 2020, making its Arm-based M-series chips, which have proven to be quite capable at gaming – even on the lower end.