Intel introduces faster Atoms for smartphones and tablets and LTE modem

Intel has released new details about the Merrifield and Moorefield Atoms for smartphones and tablets, which will be released this year. In addition, the manufacturer has unveiled a new lte modem that will compete with Qualcomm.

Intel has long indicated that the company has a strong focus on mobile and the new announcements should confirm that. The chip manufacturer shows a roadmap showing that the Merrifield-Atom should lead the way in the first half of 2014. Merrifield will be available as Atom Z34xx in two variants. In both cases, it concerns a soc with two Silvermont cores that can have 1MB L2 cache and are equipped with a PowerVR G6400 GPU that runs at 533MHz. With the Z3460, however, the maximum clock speed is 1.6GHz, while that of the Z3480 is 2.13GHz. Both chips are produced at 22nm.

Moorefield, or Atom Z35xx, will come in the second half of 2014 in two variants that are almost identical to the Merrifield-Atoms, only the Atom Z3560 and Z3580 have four cores, which, however, again clock speeds of 1.6GHz and 2, respectively. have 13GHz. The GPU is also the PowerVR G6430, which also runs at 533MHz but does contain other optimizations for better performance. Both soc types can be combined with up to 4GB lpddr3 and a 13-megapixel camera.

Another important difference is that Merrifield has to make do with the XMM 7160-lte modem, while Moorefield can also work with Intel’s new XMM 7260 modem. Where the XMM 7160 offers support for up to lte category 4 with a speed of 150Mbit/s, the 7260 offers category 6 with 300Mbit/s. It is also an lte advanced model with support for carrier aggregation, which thus merges the fragmented frequency bands of carriers for higher throughput rates.

Also on Intel’s roadmap is Cherry Trail for the second half of 2014. This is the successor to Bay Trail, which has Airmont instead of Silvermont cores and which are produced at 14nm instead of 22nm. The GPU would also get a big boost. Finally, Intel reports SoFIA for the second half of the year. Remarkably, this is an entry-level soc that will be produced at TSMC and features Silvermont cores, although it was originally an arm design. Intel did not disclose anything further about Cherry Trails and Sofia during the MCW fair in Barcelona.