Atom is a system on a chip (SoC) platform designed for smartphones and tablet computers, launched by Intel in 2012. It is a continuation of the partnership announced by Intel and Google on September 13, 2011 to provide support for the Android operating system on Intel x86 processors. This range competes with existing SoCs developed for the smartphone and tablet market from companies such as Texas Instruments, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung. Unlike these companies, which use ARM-based CPUs designed from the beginning to consume very low power, Intel has adapted the x86-based Intel Atom line of CPU developed for low power usage in netbooks, to even lower power usage. Since April 2012, several manufacturers have released Intel Atom-based tablets and phones as well as using the SoCs as a basis for other small form factor devices (e.g. mini PCs and stick PCs). In April 2016, Intel announced a major restructuring, including the cancellation of the SoFIA platform. It was reported by many news outlets that Broxton was cancelled.
Model number, SoC and platform codenames | Fabrication technology | CPU | GPU | Memory | Availability | Utilizing devices | ||||
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Instruction set | Microarchitecture | Model, frequency | Cache | Microarchitecture | Model, frequency | |||||
Atom Z2460 (Penwell, platform Medfield)[1][2] | 32 nm High-κ/metal gate | x86 | Saltwell with HT[3][4] | 1.6 GHz single-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB | PowerVR Series 5 (SGX) | 540 @ 400 MHz[4] (6.4 GFLOPs) |
32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR2-800 (6.4 GB/s)[4] | Q2 2012 | |
Atom Z2480 (platform Medfield) | 2 GHz single-core[4] | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB | 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR2-800 (6.4 GB/s)[4] | Q3 2012 | ||||||
Atom Z2420 (Lexington, platform Medfield)[14] | 1.2 GHz single-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB | 32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR2-800 (6.4 GB/s) | January 25, 2013[15] | ||||||
Atom Z2760 (Cloverview, platform Clover Trail)[22][23] | 1.8 GHz dual-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB (per core) | 545 @ 533 MHz[23][24] (8.5 GFLOPs) |
32-bit Dual-channel 400 MHz LPDDR2-800 (6.4 GB/s)[24] | Q4 2012 | |||||
Atom Z2520 (Cloverview, platform Clover Trail+)[40] | 1.2 GHz dual-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB (per core) | PowerVR Series 5XT (SGX) | 544 MP2 @ 300 MHz[40] (19.2 GFLOPs) |
32-bit Dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2-1066 (8.5 GB/s)[40] | 2013 |
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Atom Z2560 (Cloverview, platform Clover Trail+)[40] | 1.6 GHz dual-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB (per core) | 544 MP2 @ 400 MHz[40] (25.6 GFLOPs) |
32-bit Dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2-1066 (8.5 GB/s)[41] | Q2 2013 | |||||
Atom Z2580 (Cloverview, platform Clover Trail+)[46] | 2 GHz dual-core | L1: 32 KB Instruction + 24 KB Data, L2: 512 KB (per core) | 544 MP2 @ 533 MHz[40] (34.1 GFLOPs) |
32-bit Dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR2-1066 (8.5 GB/s)[47] | Q2 2013 | |||||
Atom Z3680 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 22 nm | x86-64 | Silvermont[57] | 1.33 GHz (2 GHz burst frequency) | 1 MB L2 Cache[58] | Intel Gen 7 (Ivy Bridge) | 311-667 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (8.5 GB/s) | Q3 2013 | |
Atom Z3680D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 1.33 GHz (2 GHz burst frequency) dual-core[57] | 1 MB L2 Cache[58] | 313-688 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 666 MHz DDR3L-RS-1333 (10.6 GB/s) | Q3 2013 | |||||
Atom Z3740D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 1.33 GHz (1.86 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 313-688 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 666 MHz DDR3L-RS-1333 (10.6 GB/s) | Q3 2013 | |||||
Atom Z3740 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 1.33 GHz (1.86 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-667 MHz | 64-bit dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (17.1 GB/s) | Q3 2013 |
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Atom Z3745D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail) | 1.33 GHz (1.83 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 313-792 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 666 MHz DDR3L-RS-1333 (10.6 GB/s) | Q1 2014 | |||||
Atom Z3745 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail) | 1.33 GHz (1.86 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-778 MHz | 64-bit dual-channel 666 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (17.1 GB/s) | Q1 2014 | |||||
Atom Z3770D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 1.5 GHz (2.41 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 313-688 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 666 MHz DDR3L-RS-1333 (10.6 GB/s) | Q3 2013 | |||||
Atom Z3770 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[55][56] | 1.46 GHz (2.39 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-667 MHz | 64-bit dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (17.1 GB/s) | Q3 2013 |
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Atom Z3775 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail) | 1.46 GHz (2.39 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-778 MHz | 64-bit dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (17.1 GB/s) | Q1 2014 | Asus Transformer Book T90 Chi | ||||
Atom Z3795 (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail) | 1.59 GHz (2.39 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[57] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-778 MHz | 64-bit dual-channel 533 MHz LPDDR3-1066 (17.1 GB/s) | Q1 2014 | HP ElitePad 1000 G2 | ||||
Atom Z3735D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[69] | 1.33 GHz (1.83 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[69] | 2 MB L2 Cache[59] | 311-667 MHz | 64-bit single-channel 666 MHz DDR3L-RS-1333 (10.6 GB/s)[69] | Q1 2014[69] | Asus X205, Tesco Hudl2, MeeGoPad T02[70] | ||||
Atom Z3736D (Valleyview, platform Bay Trail)[71] | 1.33 GHz (1.83 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[71] | 2 MB L2 Cache[71] | 311-646 MHz[71] | 64-bit single-channel DDR3L-RS 1333[71] | Q1 2014[71] | HP Pavilion x2[72] | ||||
Atom Z3460 (Tangier, platform Merrifield)[73] | 1.60 GHz dual-core | 1 MB L2 Cache[74] | PowerVR Series6 (Rogue) G6400[75] | 400-457 MHz[74] (117 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1066, dual-channel, 8.5 GB/s | Q2 2014[69][73] | 2014 Dell Venue 7 | |||
Atom Z3480 (Tangier, platform Merrifield)[73] | 2.13 GHz dual-core | 1 MB L2 Cache[74] | 457-533 MHz[74] (136 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1066, dual-channel, 8.5 GB/s | Q2 2014[69][73] | 2014 Dell Venue 8 | ||||
Atom Z3530 (Anniedale, platform Moorefield) | 1.33 GHz quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | PowerVR Series6 (Rogue) G6430[75] | 457 MHz (117 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 12.8 GB/s | Q4 2014[69][73] |
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Atom Z3560 (Anniedale, platform Moorefield)[73] | 1.83 GHz quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | 457–533 MHz (136 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 12.8 GB/s | Q4 2014[69][73] |
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Atom Z3570 (Anniedale, platform Moorefield) | 2 GHz quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | 457–640 MHz (155 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 12.8 GB/s | Q3 2014 | |||||
Atom Z3580 (Anniedale, platform Moorefield)[73] | 2.33 GHz quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | 457–533 MHz (136 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 12.8 GB/s | Q4 2014[69][73] |
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Atom Z3590 (Anniedale, platform Moorefield) | 2.5 GHz quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | 457–640 MHz (155 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 12.8 GB/s | Q3 2015 | Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition (ZE551ML) Asus Zenfone Zoom (ZX550ML/ZX551ML)[77] | ||||
Atom x5-Z8300 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 14 nm | x86-64 | Airmont | 1.44 GHz (1.84 GHz burst frequency) quad-core | 2 MB L2 Cache | Intel Gen 8 (Broadwell, 12 EU) | 200–500 MHz (96 GFLOPs) |
DDR3L-RS 1600, single-channel, 12.8GB/s | Q2 2015 | |
Atom x5-Z8350 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 1.44 GHz (1.92 GHz burst frequency) quad-core | 200–500 MHz (96 GFLOPs) |
Q1 2016 | RDP Thinbook (new 14.1-inch mid-2017), RDP Thinbook (11.6-inch),[82] | ||||||
Atom x5-Z8500 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 1.44 GHz (2.24 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[83] | 200–600 MHz (115 GFLOPs) |
LPDDR3-1600, dual-channel, 25.6GB/s | Q1 2015 | ||||||
Atom x5-Z8550 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 1.44 GHz (2.4 GHz burst frequency) quad-core[83] | 200–600 MHz (115 GFLOPs) |
Q1 2016 | Lenovo Yoga Book[88] | ||||||
Atom x7-Z8700 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 1.6 GHz (2.4 GHz burst frequency) quad-core | Intel Gen 8 (Broadwell, 16 EU) | 200–600 MHz (153 GFLOPs) |
Q1 2015 | Surface 3, Acer Predator 8, GPD Win | |||||
Atom x7-Z8750 (Cherryview, platform Cherry Trail) | 1.6 GHz (2.56 GHz burst frequency) quad-core | 200–600 MHz (153 GFLOPs) |
Q1 2016 | GPD Pocket | ||||||
Broxton, platforms Morganfield and Willow Trail | Goldmont | - | Intel Gen 9 (Skylake) | 2016 |
In Q1 2014, Intel launched its fully Android compatible smartphone platform Merrifield based on a 22 nm SoC. It was followed by its platform refresh Moorefield in Q4 2014.[69]
While Penwell SoC supports, in addition to Microsoft Windows, both Linux and Android operating systems, Intel has announced that it will not provide support for Linux on Cloverview family of Atom systems-on-a-chip.[89][90] This announcement has caused strong negative reaction from open source proponents.[91] A few days later Intel issued a statement saying that it has “plans for another version of this platform directed at Linux/Android"[91][92] The initial Clover Trail platform only supported Microsoft Windows (z27x0 series). The Clover Trail+ platform was later released targeting Google Android (z25x0 series).[93]
The last version of Windows 10 to support Cloverview is the Anniversary Edition (version 1607); newer versions cannot be installed.[94]
Z2760 Cloverview has introduced two new power states: S0i1 and S0i3.[95] The S0i1 state is intended to be used when the display is on but the user does not actively interact with the device; it consumes power in mW range, and can be entered/left in microseconds. The S0i3 state is intended to be used when the device display is off; it consumes power in microwatt range, and can be entered/left in milliseconds. As a result, Intel claims longer standby battery life (up to three weeks for a typical tablet).[95]
In May 2011, Intel announced an accelerated roadmap for Atom SoC. The 22 nm Silvermont microarchitecture was scheduled for 2013 release, and release of the 14 nm Airmont microarchitecture was scheduled for 2014.[96]
It has been reported that Silvermont-based Atom SoCs will be codenamed Tangier (Merrifield smartphones), Valleyview (Bay Trail tablets),[97][98] will be available in single-, dual- and quad-core versions, and Valleyview will include Intel's 7th generation GPU, allowing for 4–7× improvement over existing Atom GPUs.[99][100]
Other upcoming Silvermont-based Atom SoCs include Rangeley[101] and Avoton[102] (part of Edisonville platform).
Airmont-based Atom platforms will be codenamed Moorefield (smartphones)[103] and Cherry Trail (tablets)[104][105] using the Anniedale and Cherryview[106] SoCs.
Goldmont-based Atom platforms were to be codenamed Morganfield (smartphones) and Willow Trail (tablets) using the Broxton SoC.[103] The Willow Trail SoC platform was cancelled in April 2016, as Broxton is limited to IoT devices.[107]