ARM has introduced two new mobile chips that will allow manufacturers to create slimmed-down smartphones that are able to run faster and longer.
ARM unveiled the Cortex-A72 processor and the Mali-T880 graphics chip, both of which will be coming to smartphones by 2016.
The ARMv8-A-based Cortex-A72 processor will feature an increase in CPU performance by 50 times compared to processing speeds seen five years ago.
ARM adds that the Cortex-A72 will be providing 3.5 times the performance of the company's Cortex-A15 processor, which is the one widely used in mobile devices today.
The Mali-T880 GPU, meanwhile, will allow mobile devices to deliver console-quality gaming and visuals, which would open up the platform for video game developers to release their products.
The new technologies will allow mobile phone manufacturers to create devices that will close the gap in the experience of using a smartphone and using a PC, which would allow smartphones to further supplant PCs as the perfect all-around devices.
"I think innovation is accelerating in the phone space," said Ian Ferguson, an executive for ARM in a conference call. "We think the phone is becoming the primary compute platform."
ARM claims that the new chips will improve the energy efficiency of devices, allowing manufacturers to decrease the thickness of devices while improving battery life. This is the reason for the success of ARM's designs for mobile CPUs, as technologies for mobile device batteries have simply not been able to keep up with the developments made in the industry.
ARM stands to profit richly if consumers and corporations greatly move away from using PCs and into using smartphones. However, as the devices are manufactured today, smartphones are still not able to replace PCs for several important functions such as editing videos and producing music.
However, ARM is looking to change that with the new technologies. Ferguson reveals that the company thinks 2016 will be a pivotal year wherein users will be significantly using their smartphones more for creating content.
There are some experts, however, that remain skeptical regarding the push for smartphones to replace PCs, one of which is Technalysis Research principal analyst Bob O'Donnell.
"I really don't think most people are going to use their mobile phone only," O'Donnell said, adding that it is simply too difficult to use the devices for several functions. He did say, however, that the ability to connect wirelessly to bigger displays would be beneficial for mobile devices.
Over 10 of ARM's partners, including MediaTek, Rockchip and HiSilicon, have already licensed the Cortex-A72.
