The previous wars on processors were held with one dominant brand in common, Intel.
Intel dominated vs AMD recently, and was the choice for Apple's transition from the PowerPC (IBM).
But now, it is the time of ARM vs Intel. Can Intel defeat ARM as it previously did with all the others (Intel vs AMD, Intel vs PowerPC).
Well, this time it's going to be that much harder. Intel, with the CISC architecture but better integration technology, was able to defeat its competitors. It was more of a manufacturing advantage than a design one.
I have friends at Intel that I should ask them about, and see what their thoughts are.
But.. why is ARM winning?
Lower energy consumption is a simple answer. ARM is winning because it is the most flexible supplier, by selling the actual Integrated Circuit designs and letting companies like Samsung manufacture as they please.
Also there is the RISC vs CISC advantage. Even at my electronic circuit design years, we studied the advantages of RISC over CISC because of simplicity, and better ability to divide (divide & conquer, anyone?).
The question now is who offers the best PCB Design Services, who has the best partner ecosystem to develop the IP, the actual designs and not the whole product.
The divide and conquer approach was taken out of the architecture design (RISC) and into the business side, making ARM that more efficient.
Something similar to what lean startup methodology is doing to business, with it's background on software development (lean methodology is in my point of view 7-8 words: divide & conquer and apply scrum product development fast).
