Arm C1 CPU Series Announced With Faster On-Device AI Performance and Better Efficiency for Smartphones

Arm announced its new C1 series of CPUs alongside the Mali G1 GPU on Wednesday. It is designed to improve on-device artificial intelligence (AI) performance and overall efficiency in next-generation smartphones and devices. The Cambridge-based tech giant has made several changes in the new series, ditching the Cortex-X and A branding in favour of C1, which now arrives in Ultra, Premium, Pro, and Nano core configurations. Similarly, on the GPU front, Immortalis makes way for the G1 nomenclature, divided into Ultra, Premium, and Pro segments.

Arm's Latest C1 CPU Clusters Bring 5X AI Speed

In a newsroom post, the semiconductor giant detailed its new CPU cluster, highlighting that these were designed keeping AI workflows and its future demands in mind. The Arm C1 cluster, which is part of the company's new Lumex compute subsystem (CSS), is the first CPU to be built on the Arm v9.3 architecture.

The Arm C1 CPU family introduces different tiers of processors, ranging from the more powerful C1-Ultra to the smaller C1-Nano cores. These work together in a cluster to balance performance and efficiency, depending on the task. For example, demanding applications such as video editing, gaming, or running large AI models would rely on the bigger cores, while routine tasks like messaging or web browsing could shift to the smaller ones, conserving battery. The same was handled by the Cortex-X (performance core) and the A (efficiency core) in the previous generation.

Arm C1 CPU cluster real-world performance and efficiency
Photo Credit: Arm

One of the key points Arm is highlighting with the C1 family is faster on-device AI. Instead of sending data to the cloud for processing, more tasks can now be handled directly on the device. The semiconductor giant claims that the new CPU cluster can deliver up to five times better performance for certain AI workloads compared to previous chips. This could make everyday uses such as voice assistants, live translation, or image recognition run more smoothly and with less delay.

Focusing on efficiency, the company claims that the C1 series brings significant efficiency gains as well. The top-end C1-Ultra is claimed to deliver around 25 percent better performance per clock cycle when compared to last year's Cortex-X925, while also using less power. The Mali G1 GPU was also introduced as part of the announcement. It is aimed at improving graphics performance for gaming and media, while also supporting AI-driven tasks.

Notably, Arm's designs are widely licensed by chipmakers, meaning that companies such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung could adopt the C1 CPUs and Mali G1 GPU in their upcoming processors. This means consumers are likely to see these improvements in future Android smartphones, tablets, and other devices in the coming years.