Andre Yoskowitz
26 Nov 2012 23:32
According to a leaked roadmap, it appears that Intel's tiny, low-power Atom processors will remain 32-bit-only until at least 2015.
"Bay Trail" SOCs (system-on-a-chip) will launch in 2014, following next year's Clover Trail. Bay Trail will offer 50 percent less power consumption than Clover, which will already feature over 30 percent less consumption than current SOCs.
Additionally, Intel will offer quad-core variants with 22nm process, including a DirectX11-compliant GPU and resolution support up to 2560x1600.
Until 2015, the Atom chips will remain 32-bit only, limiting tablets (and phones) to 4GB RAM until then. Furthermore, Microsoft will likely have to develop a 32-bit version of Windows 9, even though it is trying to move to exclusively 64-bit operating systems.
Intel is looking to compete against ARM-based chips like the powerful and efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro.