ARM Mali绘图核心出货可望超3亿套

根据ARM公司首席执行官Simon Segars预计，2013年 Mali 绘图 IP 核心出货量可望超过3亿套的规模，较2012年1.5亿套出货量增加一倍以上。 Simon Segars从今年7月1日起接掌ARM CEO一职，他在首度参与该公司财报会议时告诉分析师，截至目前为止， Mali 今年的出货量已经超过2012年的总出货量，达到了1.8亿的出货规模。对于ARM来说，下半年通常会带来更高的出货量与营收，尤其还得力于智能手机、平板电脑与电视等以消费IC为主的市场带动。因此，2013年ARM Mali 出货量将超过3亿，且上看4亿套。 2013年2月，ARM多媒体处理器部门总经理Pete Hutton曾经表示， Mali GPU 出货量将突破2.4亿套，但其中大约只有2 5%来自采用 Mali 授权的合作伙伴，在全球经济逐渐转好的情况下，ARM期待在今年下半年交出超越这一数字的好成绩。

ARM Mali 出货量成长
Source：ARM；单位百万美元vWHesmc

Segars还引述最近取得的高阶设计订单── Mali 获三星(Samsung) Exynos 5 Octa 采用。他表示今年第二季高阶智能手机成长30%，而入门级智能手机的成长也持续推动 Correx-A 与 Mali 系列核心市场。 Segars 表示虽未针对 Mali 设定2013年出货目标，但他认为 Mali 产品组合即定位于取得更多市占率。他还表示，透过开发内部绘图核心更有机会说服SoC公司改变策略，同时开始采用外包。“在这方面的考量和处理器是相同的。对于绘图核心而言，还必须支持 OpenCL 和 Renderscript 等标准，许多公司也必须考虑是否应该采用外包策略。 高通公司(Qualcomm Inc.)在其 Snapdragon 应用处理器中加入内部开发的绘图引擎，这可能成为ARM、Imagination或其它GPU授权商的目标。不过，随着Nvidia公司宣布计划授权其先 进的GPU技术后，这种情况在最近几周以来已经变得更复杂了。 此外，苹果公司(Apple)也为其带来一些影响市场成长的迹象。作为一家主要的消费电子设备供货商，苹果虽然授权ARM架构，但也投资于其自有的应用处理器设计；同时，尽管持续投资于Imagination以及授权其核心，但预计也将着手设计绘图核心。 Segars认为，业界的整体趋势正迈向外包趋势，而苹果可能是一种特殊情况。他说：“苹果公司拥有非常吸引人的端至端解决方案，不但资金充足且相当独特。” ARM第二季营收为2.643亿美元，较2012年同期成长24%。该公司在2Q13税前盈利为8,660万英磅(约1.3亿美元)，较2012年同期的6,650万英磅(约1亿美元)大幅增加30%。该公司预计第三季营收将持续成长，并看好2013全年营收表现。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：ARM's Mali Shipments Beat Expectations，by Peter Clarke

相关阅读：
• NVIDIA完成收购PGI，竞争对手或受波及
• Imagination挑战ARM，誓做IP供应界颠覆者
• Nvidia开始向第三方厂商授权GPU IPvWHesmc

{pagination} ARM's Mali Shipments Beat Expectations Peter Clarke LONDON — Mali graphics IP core shipments are on course to be more than 300 million units in 2013, more than doubling the 150 million units shipped in 2012, according to Simon Segars, CEO of processor IP licensor ARM Holdings plc. Segars, speaking at his first financial results conference since taking over as CEO of ARM on July 1, told analysts that Mali year-to-date shipments were already ahead of the total achieved for 2012. A slide presentation indicates that the year-to-date figure is about 180 million Mali units shipped (see below). For ARM the second half of the year usually includes higher shipments and revenues, and particularly so in consumer-oriented ICs such as chips for smartphones, tablet computers, and televisions. As a result, ARM's Mali shipments in 2013 look set to be closer to 400 million units than 300 million. In February 2013 ARM executives in the media processing division said that they expected Mali GPU shipments to exceed 240 million units, but pointed out that only about 25 percent of Mali licensees had come to market at that time. In the absence of some global economic catastrophe in the second half, ARM looks set to blow past that figure in 2013. Mali royalty shipments in millions of units. (Source: ARM, July 24, 2013) Segars also referenced a recent high-end design win for Mali with Samsung inside the Exynos 5 Octa and said that, while the market for premium smartphones grew 30 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, entry-level smartphones are driving shipments of both Correx-A series and Mali series cores. In a telephone call, Segars told EE Times there is no particular target for Mali shipments in 2013, but he thinks the product lineup is well placed to take market share. He also said that there was opportunity to persuade SoC companies with internal graphics development to change tack and start outsourcing. "It is the same argument as with processors. In graphics there is a need to support standards such as OpenCL and Renderscript. Companies always need to consider if they should outsource." Qualcomm Inc., which includes internally developed graphics engines within its Snapdragon range of application processors, could be a target for ARM, Imagination, and other GPU licensors. However, the situation has been made more complicated in recent weeks with the announcement that Nvidia Corp. plans to license its advanced GPU technology into the market. There are also some signs of a contrarian trend with Apple. Primarily a vendor of consumer electronics equipment, Apple is investing in its own application processor design, albeit based on an ARM architectural license, and is expected by some to engage in graphics design despite having been an investor in Imagination and licensee of its cores. Segars argues that the general trend is towards outsourcing, and Apple is probably a special case. "Apple has a very compelling end-to-end solution, but it is very well funded and is fairly unique in that," he told us. ARM's second-quarter revenues were $264.3 million, up 24 percent on the equivalent figure in 2Q12. The company made a profit before tax of ￡86.6 million (about US$130 million) in 2Q13 compared to ￡66.5 million (about $100 million) in 2Q12.