There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the iPhone 5s’s new 64-bit processor ever since Apple unveiled the chipset last month. Some have applauded the upgrade to the iPhone while others have implied that the new chip might not be much of an upgrade at all. Techworld reports that Qualcomm CMO Anand Chandrasekher is in the latter of those two groups. In an interview, Chandrasekher said that he believes the announcement was nothing more than a “marketing gimmick. There’s zero benefit a consumer gets from that.”
Chandrasekher also said that the 64-bit processor is only necessary when running a device with greater than 4GB of RAM, whereas the iPhone 5s only contains 1GB of RAM. Others have argued that despite the early implementation of the 64-bit chip, Apple has cleared the way for developers to begins production of 64-bit apps on future devices by striking first. Other smartphone makers are clearly taking note as well, as evidenced by Samsung’s insinuation that the Galaxy S5 will also contain a 64-bit processor.
The iPhone 5s also slaughtered rival smartphones in performance tests, so Apple is clearly doing something right.
Chandrasekher went on to say that Qualcomm, developer of Snapdragon processors, will inevitably move to 64-bit as well at some point in the future. The hardware will eventually demand a more powerful processor, but Apple’s preemptive strike might have come a bit too early.
UPDATE: Qualcomm issued a statement retracting its CMO’s comments. The full statement can be read here.
