Intel confirmed in April that it was canceling its earlier plans to release the SoFIA and Broxton chips SoC processors, which were being made for smartphones. However, in a recent interview, Venkata Renduchintala, Intel’s current president of the Client and Internet of Things (IoT) Businesses and Systems Architecture Group, teased the notion of the chip maker entering the mobile processor business again, reports Windows Central.
Could Intel develop mobile processors again?
Previously, Intel’s decision to cancel the release of the SoFIA and Broxton chips SoC processors indicated Intel’s intent to turn away from the smartphone chip market. But Renduchintala, who joined the chip making giant in late 2015 after working for competitor Qualcomm, hinted that it might have future plans for the mobile chip market.
In an interview with PC World, when asked why the chip maker was cutting mobile processor development to concentrate on modems, he said first they rationalized what they were spending their R&D on, adding that they had a couple of mobile SoC products “that I don’t think were worthy to continue to conclusion. That doesn’t mean to say we’re no longer doing mobile platforms. On the mobile platform side, my commitment is to talk less and do more. When we have something to say we’ll talk about it.”
Renduchintala’s statements are quite unclear; however, they do raise the hope that the chip maker could declare new smartphone processor chips in the future. Renduchintala, Intel’s second-in-command, has assisted in slashing struggling products like mobile CPUs and has strengthened the focus on the IoT, servers, and connectivity.
What are Intel’s future plans?
When asked about future goals, the executive said he has three uber-level goals. The first is to continue to accelerate their client computing business to a position of stable profitability. The second is to grow and scale the IoT business, while the third is “to maintain a degree of vibrancy in the technology leadership of our entire systems architecture organization.”
Renduchintala discussed other topics with PC World as well. He talked about Intel’s VR hardware development with the Project Alloy headset design and how it can affect the PC industry as a whole, autonomous cars, the IoT, and competitors.
Intel is selling modems to Apple and helping BMW build an autonomous car. Also the chip maker is spearheading the development of next-generation 5G cellular networks. Intel will provide chip and data center technologies for all these new segments.
