The A72 was announced as part of an IP suite that also includes a graphics upgrade that supports the display of 4K images at 120frame/s. Devices with this new industry-leading technology suite are expected to enter the market in 2016.
"Our new premium mobile experience IP suite with the Cortex-A72 processor delivers a decisive step forward from the compelling user experiences provided by this year's Cortex-A57 based devices," said Pete Hutton, president of ARM's products groups. "For multiple generations, together with our partners, we have delivered the leading-edge of the premium mobile experience. Building on this, in 2016 the ARM ecosystem will deliver even slimmer, lighter, more immersive mobile devices that serve as your primary and only compute platform."
More than 10 partners, including HiSilicon, MediaTek and Rockchip, have licensed the Cortex-A72, which is based on the 64bit ARMv8-A architecture. The core will enable 'sustained operation' at 2.5GHz, working within the power budget of a mobile device, when manufactured on a 16nm FinFET process. ARM is also expecting a 75% reduction in energy consumption for the same level of performance when compared to 2014 devices.
Also launched as part of the IP suite is the CoreLink CCI-500 interconnect, the Mali-T880 GPU and the Mali-V550 video and Mali-DP550 display processors.
