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QualcommSnapdragon.png
Qualcomm chief marketing officer Anand Chandrasekher said Apple's 64-bit A7 processor, first introduced in the iPhone 5s, is a "marketing gimmick" and there is "zero benefit" to the consumer from the chip, according to an interview with Techworld.

64-bit ARMv8 processors were first introduced back in 2011, though Apple's A7 is the first 64-bit ARM chip to be released commercially.

Last week, Algoriddim claimed the A7 chip in the iPhone 5s allowed for 2-4 times faster processing for some tasks related to real-time audio and video production.
"I know there's a lot of noise because Apple did [64-bit] on their A7," said Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Qualcomm, in an interview. "I think they are doing a marketing gimmick. There's zero benefit a consumer gets from that."

A benefit of 64-bit is more memory addressability, but that is not relevant in today's smartphones or tablets, Chandrasekher said. The iPhone 5s has only 1GB of DRAM.

"Predominantly... you need it for memory addressability beyond 4GB. That's it. You don't really need it for performance, and the kinds of applications that 64-bit get used in mostly are large, server-class applications," said Chandrasekher, who previously ran Intel's mobile platforms group.
Chandrasekher goes on to say that Qualcomm is developing a 64-bit chip for use in mobile applications, but that the chip will be more beneficial from engineering efficiency and chip design standpoints, rather than as a consumer-driven feature.

Countering Chandrasekher's claims, other examinations have shown significant improvements for a variety of tasks on the A7 in 64-bit versus 32-bit mode. Mike Ash performed a fairly technical dive (via Daring Fireball) into the A7, concluding that the addition of 64-bit is a "welcome addition" and that it came sooner than expected.
The "64-bit" A7 is not just a marketing gimmick, but neither is it an amazing breakthrough that enables a new class of applications. The truth, as happens often, lies in between.

The simple fact of moving to 64-bit does little. It makes for slightly faster computations in some cases, somewhat higher memory usage for most programs, and makes certain programming techniques more viable. Overall, it's not hugely significant.

[...]

ARM64 is a welcome addition to Apple's hardware. We all knew it would happen eventually, but few expected it this soon. It's here now, and it's great.

Article Link: Qualcomm Marketing Executive Calls Apple's 64-Bit A7 Chip a 'Marketing Gimmick'
 

pk7

macrumors 6502
Sep 27, 2011
441
64
Someone sounds insecure.

Despite the cold, hard facts that 64-bit actually helps.

Sorry the 1.3 GHz dual core A7 beats your precious 2.3 GHz quad core Snapdragon 800. :p
 
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Squilly

macrumors 68020
Nov 17, 2012
2,260
4
PA
I don't think it's a marketing gimmick. Developers have proven it to be better than 32 bit. I haven't seen other manufacturers step up to the plate to create a 64bit chip either. Relax. Looks like Qualcomm is full of haters too.
 

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
He's salty. When they're debuting their 64-bit chip next year, Apple will be debuting their second generation 64 bit core. A7 is already beating the best Krait core in IPC.

dealwithit.jpg
 

theheadguy

macrumors 65816
Apr 26, 2005
1,156
1,385
california
The chip itself is not a gimmick, the "64-bit" marketing hype is, and people here are drooling for more...

I don't think it's a marketing gimmick. Developers have proven it to be better than 32 bit...

Name one way the iPhone 5S experience is improved by being 64-bit instead of 32.
 

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
Hmmm. When you don't come out with it first it becomes a "marketing gimmick" :D

No mention of the new instruction set. The 64-bit transformation is going to happen everywhere eventually. This comes off as sour grapes to me.
 

sk1wbw

Suspended
May 28, 2011
3,483
1,010
Williamsburg, Virginia
So is there also no advantage in 64 bit desktop cpu's as well? And what about the marketing behind dual core and quad core chips in smartphones? Android users FAP FAP FAP FAP all day long over the fact they have a quad core smartphone.

(edited to reflect quad core cpu's)
 
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TommyA6

macrumors 65816
May 15, 2013
1,056
516
Dual core, 1.3 ghz A7 outperformes quad core, 2,3 ghz s800.
Sour grapes much?
:eek:
 

decimortis

macrumors 6502a
Aug 28, 2007
548
1,474
Toronto
I can imagine how this would have went if it'd come to a competitor first.

"ZOMG Apple's still using 32-bit chips. Who wants to buy old tech? Lolz1"

D.
 

XboxMySocks

macrumors 68020
Oct 25, 2009
2,230
198
Of course 64 bit is completely useless. That's why every new computer comes with a 32bit processor :rolleyes:

EDIT: Thank goodness all the computer geniuses came to my rescue and informed me of what a 64bit processor does. I'm well aware of the limitations of an x32 v. x64 processor. Hence my sarcastic comment.
 
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Lousawyer6

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2013
14
0
you cant be serious

haha wow, he is so ignorant. First saying it makes no differences and than goes on to say it makes some difference. Make up your mind fool! Here comes all the haters saying i told ya so.
 

Thunderhawks

Suspended
Feb 17, 2009
4,057
2,118
So is there also no advantage in 64 bit desktop cpu's as well? And what about the marketing behind dual core and quad core chips in smartphones? Android users fap fap fap all day long over the fact they have a quad core smartphone.

Since it's quad core it should have been:

fap fap fap fap
 

lukarak

macrumors regular
Jul 29, 2011
180
4
The grapes are sour, said the fox :D

Just like Samsung with their "our next phone will have 64 bit too", a pathetic company.
 

Merkie

macrumors 68020
Oct 23, 2008
2,119
734
We'll see when smartphones with more than 4GB RAM become more common and completing platforms have tons of apps that will not be compatible with these phones, while iOS users won't notice anything when they make the jump.
 

vmachiel

macrumors 68000
Feb 15, 2011
1,772
1,440
Holland
Don't be a sore loser Qualcomm, innovate!

O yeah, and no more super weird samsung like presentations at CES:)
 

lunarworks

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2003
1,972
5,213
Toronto, Canada
So he says the 64-bit is a marketing gimmick, and then admits they're also working on a 64-bit mobile chipset.

Marketing doublespeak at its finest.
 

bassfingers

macrumors 6502
Nov 15, 2010
410
0
"I don't know why their processor is better except for that it apparently just is"

Is what I just heard
 
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