Arm processors are great – a little bit too great if you ask me because they are way too incentivizing to the point where the longest-living and most popular CISC-based computing, the x86 architecture, has called upon the OGs Intel and AMD to come together and defend its “ancient” in these trying times.
Although the very first partnership between Team Blue and Team Red was engaged by the “Big Blue of America” IBM back when Intel first introduced its x86 microprocessor in 1978, the two actually began their rival status seriously when they were competing for the “world’s 1st 1GHz CPU” so there’s countless beef and historical bouts awaiting your discovery but I digress.
Anyway, the creation of the x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group is to “advance the x86 architecture with new levels of customization, scalability, and compatibility on both the hardware and software layer” while covering as many market segments as possible from embedded devices to PCs for the consumers and upwards of data centers and cloud environments by “soliciting all sorts of technical inputs from communities to include the most critical functions and features”.
The advisory group will also see all sorts of industry giants joining the cause including Broadcom, Dell, Google, HP, Lenovo, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat as well as prominent figures like Tim Sweeney and Linus Torvalds.
With Arm-based processors getting more exposure as they “invade” Windows laptops under Qualcomm on top of sitting within smartphones and tablets, it’s quite obvious that Intel and AMD are taking Snapdragon’s market share potshots very seriously and are moving early to avoid any future mishaps but competition will always breed merit for the consumers so let’s see what sort of “magic” can x86 pull off in the coming years.
