It's springtime, so let's kick off Q2 2021 with some positive news from around the electronics industry. This week, we touch on the new Arm Armv9  architecture, positive growth numbers for the fabless IC industry, and more.

Arm's New Armv9 Architecture

Arm recently introduced its first new architecture in a decade — Armv9 architecture. Presented as a solution for the artificial intelligence (AI), security, and IoT needs of the future, the Armv9 architecture will be the foundation for the next few hundred billion Arm-based chips.

"Armv9-A is a set of extensions to the Armv8-A architecture, and part of a rolling program of substantial enhancements to the architecture to be deployed over the next few years," Arm notes on its site. "The goal of these enhancements is to help increase the computing capability in areas such as digital signal processing (DSP) and machine learning (ML), and to continually improve the security and robustness of our systems."

Arm boasts the following "major new features":
 
  • Scalable Vector Extensions (SVE2)
  • Realm Management Extension (RME)
  • branch record buffer extensions (BRBE)
  • Embedded Trace Extension (ETE) and Trace Buffer Extension (TRBE): enhanced trace capabilities for Armv9
  • Transactional memory extension (TME): hardware transactional memory support for the Arm architecture

Exciting Growth for the Fabless IC Industry

The COVID-19 crisis created countless challenges for the electronics industry in 2020. But a positive outcome was the 26.4% revenue increase for fabless IC design companies. According to TrendForce, COVID-19 helped drive demand for laptops and network solutions, which in turn led many fabless IC design companies to see big gains. "In particular, the top three IC design companies (Qualcomm, Broadcom, and Nvidia) all posted YoY increases in their revenues," TrendForce reports. Nvidia led the way with a 52.2% increase YoY. It was followed by AMD with a 45% increase and MediaTek with a 37.3% increase. This is positive news for anyone in or connected to the IC business.

Raspberry Pi Imager v1.6

The latest version of Raspberry Pi Imager is out. Raspberry Pi recently announced the update to Raspberry Pi Imager v1.6 with the goal of making it "more reliable and easier to use," Gordon Hollingworth posted on the Raspberry Pi blog. While the new version looks pretty much the same as the last version, a notable improvement is the addition of an advanced options menu. Simply press Ctrl-Shift-X. "it’s worth a look if you find you frequently need to make config changes after you flash a new SD card," Hollingworth recommends. Check it out!

EU Smart Home Market Up 12.2%

Smart home technologies are hot throughout Europe, which means new opportunities for smart tech leaders like Amazon and Samsung, as well as electronics-focused startups and entrepreneurs. In the Q4 2020, the European smart home market jumped 12.2% over Q4 2019, according to a new IDC report. Which products drove the growth? Video and audio entertainment solutions (e.g., digital media adapters and smart speakers) and home monitoring products (e.g., smart lights and security solutions) led the way.  "Home Monitoring/Security, Lighting, and Thermostats accounted for more than 8 million units in the European market, which was an increase of 12.2% year over year, the biggest growth in 2020," IDC noted.
 
 

Declassified Bonus Edition

This week, Elektor will declassifiy the final free article in the Bonus Edition of Elektor magazine, which we created with SparkFun Electronics. Thus far, we've delivered the following articles:
 
  • Must-Haves for Your Electronics Workspace
  • DIY Circuit Board Organization
  • SparkX Standouts
  • Manage Your Sweets with RFID

On Friday, we'll release the last article, "Trike Drifting & Exploring Mineshafts with SparkFun's OpenLog Artemis." Don't miss it!

Updates on Armv9, New Tech, and More

Engineers and electronics makers read Elektor’s Electronics News Byte for up-to-date industry news, electronics-related events, and more. And make sure you sign up for Elektor’s E-Zine to receive new electronics projects, Q&As, and engineering tutorials each week. We will deliver more info about Armv9, Raspberry Pi, smart home tech, and the IC industry in the near future.