Intel is readying a 64-bit Bay Trail Atom platform for Android, according to Hermann Eul, Intel’s general manager, mobile and communications group.
“It’s not only about Windows 64-bit, we’ve been talking about Android as well,” Eul said.
An assistant then proceeded to demo on stage “the first ever showing of a 64-bit kernel running on Bay Trail with Android.”
Eul continued. “We have 64-bit Windows shipping next quarter and, needless to say, we’ll run fast to make this happen on Android as well.”
Intel’s Bay Trail processor — which is currently powering a growing number of tablets and 2-in-1 devices from Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo — today is 64-bit but runs Windows 8.1 in 32-bit mode. That will be rectified next quarter when Bay Trail tablets run in full 64-bit Windows 8.1 mode.
Apple garnered lots of headlines in September when it unveiled the 64-bit A7 processor — that chip now powers the iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini Retina.
Going to 64-bit allows a device to address more memory — more than the 4GB limitation in many cases for 32-bit processors.
But that’s not all. A 64-bit platform can allow data-intensive applications to handle large chunks of data more efficiently than 32-bit — and that can have implications in gaming, for instance.
Intel won’t be alone, though, making a run at Apple. A report earlier this month said Samsung will launch a flagship smartphone with a 64-bit CPU in 2014.
Source: CNET
