For years Intel has been a well-known name in the technology world, but now with the advent of a new, even smaller microchip technology, a small change could have a huge impact. Most people know that technology continues to get faster and faster. However, most are unaware of the reasons why, or even how that is possible. Understanding the basic design behind the technology consumers use every day, may go a long way in really appreciating the amount of effort being put into making everyday life a little easier.
Manufacturers may be able to pop out a new phone every couple of months like its easy as pie, but only because of the efforts of major chip companies like Intel. Many may not realize the obstacles that must be overcome in order to bring about that Note 4 or iPhone 6. Intel’s new 14 nm(nanometer) technology had to overcome the same obstacles as many before it. The main problems usually tend to center around power and space. Just so that it is understood, a nanometer is about how much a human nail grows per second, and a piece of paper is about 100,000 nm thick in comparison. While the understanding of what exactly this measurement refers to in relation to a microchip has been a bit blurred over the last few years, clarification is still possible. Basically, the smaller the measurement in nanometers, the more transistors can be fit on to any given chip.
Much of the smartphones and tablets in use today are using 22 to 28 nm technology. While Intel has not been involved to a very large degree in creating chips specifically for mobile technology in the past, following this small change to 14 nm technology, the tech giant could start to be seen far more often as the immense impact is felt around the technological world. This new technology draws half the power of current standard chips, not to mention half the space as well. This means that far more technology will be made available to each handset, tablet or other mobile device. Many flagship phones today run on quad-core processors, it is possible however that octa-core processors could become the new norm. This new technology is not simply limited to the mobile world however. Data servers, home desktops, Ultrabooks and many of the upcoming IoT (Internet of Things) technologies will no doubt be running on this new standard as well.
Intel will be making this new advancement available in new devices by the end of 2014. While billions await their new phones, tablets and many other devices, it remains important that the details are known about the trials that companies like Intel go through in order to bring about the “next best thing.” So perhaps in the future consumers will be able to appreciate just what went into making the Note 5, iPhone 7, and so on. As time goes by and mankind requires even more advancement in science and technology, companies like Intel will still be there making all the precise little changes that will have a big impact.
