ARM introduces new architecture for processor and graphics cores

ARM has officially unveiled a new generation of processor and graphics cores - C1 CPU and Mali G1 GPU. The new architecture will debut as part of the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset this month. This is the first major redesign of ARM's architecture in recent years, and it also marks a change in branding from the familiar Cortex-X and Cortex-A names to the new C1 line, based on ARMv9.3. New C1 cores - more performance, less power

ARM has divided the new series into four classes:

• C1-Ultra is the flagship core that replaces Cortex-X925. It provides +12% performance (IPC) and -28% power consumption with the same power. The maximum frequency is 4.1 GHz and supports up to 2000 simultaneous instructions.
• C1-Premium is a compact version of Ultra with a smaller chip area (35%) and a slightly lower frequency (~3.9 GHz).
• C1-Pro is the successor to Cortex-A725, which delivers +11% performance or -26% power consumption with the same performance.
• C1-Nano is an energy-efficient core for background tasks with improved transition prediction and cache. The performance increase is up to 8% and the energy efficiency is +26%.

SME2 - a new approach to AI

The reason for the radical revision of the architecture and rebranding was the development of artificial intelligence. One of the most interesting innovations is Scalable Matrix Extension 2 (SME2), an external module for processing matrix operations that is available to all cores. Unlike the built-in SIMD extensions (NEON, SVE), SME2 can be completely disabled to save power. ARM claims that SME2 provides: 4.7x faster speech recognition, 2.8x faster audio generation (Stable Audio), 3.7x average increase in ML benchmarks.

This is not a replacement for NPU or GPU, SME2 is a more basic engine that will handle simple AI processes that do not require large language models and save energy without enabling NPU or GPU cores.

Mali G1 - a new era of mobile graphics

ARM is also abandoning the Immortalis brand and launching a new line of Mali G1 GPUs. It will be presented in three versions:

• G1-Ultra (10+ cores) - +20% performance compared to Immortalis G925, -9% power consumption per frame.
• G1-Premium (6-9 cores) - a balance between power and energy.
• G1-Pro (1-5 cores) - for budget solutions.

G1-Ultra now traces rays twice as fast thanks to hardware accelerated BVH traversal. ARM has also combined ray casting and intersection testing into a single structural unit, which reduces RTU power consumption.