Intel Announces Quark, Its Smallest Silicon Yet

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Quark is teeny and uses a fraction of the power that Atom consumes.

Though the Internet might be absorbed in all things Apple, there's plenty of other stuff going on in the tech industry. Chief among them is IDF, but Intel isn't letting a little thing like an Apple event get in the way of its developer conference or any planned announcements. During his IDF keynote, Intel's CEO revealed its smallest silicon yet, Quark.

Quark is Intel's newest range of processors and it's aimed at wearable tech. The Quark chips use one tenth of the power of Intel's Atom and measure one fifth of Atom's size. The low-power chips come as the market for smartwatches and devices like Google Glass is poised to explode.

Other than the fact that Quark will target wearable devices, CEO Brian Krzanich didn't give much else away. We'll keep you posted on all things Quark.

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Jane McEntegart
20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • pbrigido
    Sounds like Intel will start to provide hardware for some exciting new products. What architecture does it use? I'm assuming x86?
    Reply
  • warezme
    Why is it all I can picture is a Farengi?
    Reply
  • Stimpack
    Once you have their money, you never give it back.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Because this is greedy and compatible with 285 rules of ACQUISITION...

    :-)

    But a ferengi fits quite nice to this news...
    Reply
  • The_Trutherizer
    I think I may be wrong, but people really like their stylish watches. As the writer has said there may well be a huge sale of these smart watches in the beginning, but intel would do better to develop smart kits that designers can incorporate in normal watches. Heck I know many women are really serious about what watches men wear. Not to mention themselves. We're talking about jewellery here. Giver me a waterproof voice activated ring and watch (stylish) that I can wear that can serve as a phone. Bring it on. That's actually cool. Beats having to lug a big ass phone around.
    Reply
  • The_Trutherizer
    I think I may be wrong, but people really like their stylish watches. As the writer has said there may well be a huge sale of these smart watches in the beginning, but intel would do better to develop smart kits that designers can incorporate in normal watches. Heck I know many women are really serious about what watches men wear. Not to mention themselves. We're talking about jewellery here. Giver me a waterproof voice activated ring and watch (stylish) that I can wear that can serve as a phone. Bring it on. That's actually cool. Beats having to lug a big ass phone around.
    Reply
  • MANOFKRYPTONAK
    I wonder how this will translate to their desktop and mobile lines? It is nice to see Intel, arm and apple with others making strides in the mobile sector. This is the kind of stuff I dreamed of as a kid!
    Reply
  • MANOFKRYPTONAK
    Oh and I want bench marks comparing this, custom arm architectures, atoms etc...
    Reply
  • stevejnb
    11514984 said:
    I think I may be wrong, but people really like their stylish watches. As the writer has said there may well be a huge sale of these smart watches in the beginning, but intel would do better to develop smart kits that designers can incorporate in normal watches. Heck I know many women are really serious about what watches men wear. Not to mention themselves. We're talking about jewellery here. Giver me a waterproof voice activated ring and watch (stylish) that I can wear that can serve as a phone. Bring it on. That's actually cool. Beats having to lug a big ass phone around.

    What has happened to the resilience and fortitude of the people in our society when something that weighs mere ounces and rests comfortably on the palm of your hand and fits in most pockets is described as some "big ass" device that one must "lug" around?
    Reply
  • Durandul
    I want "smart" clothes. That or just use it to make a rave hat. It would have lights that pulsate to the beats.
    Reply