Arm has officially launched its new C1 CPU series, built on the company’s latest Arm v9.3 architecture, marking a major shift in how processors will deliver on-device performance for future smartphones and connected devices. The announcement was made on Wednesday, highlighting faster AI processing speeds, improved power efficiency, and a redesigned core strategy that replaces the older Cortex-X and A lineup.
The C1 CPU family introduces four core types — Ultra, Premium, Pro, and Nano — which work together in a cluster to balance performance and energy usage. Heavy-duty tasks such as video editing, gaming, or running large-scale AI models can leverage the larger C1-Ultra and Premium cores, while everyday tasks like browsing, chatting, or media playback can run on the smaller Nano cores to conserve battery life.
One of the most significant highlights of the C1 CPUs is their ability to handle AI workloads directly on the device rather than relying on cloud processing. According to Arm, the new CPUs deliver up to five times faster AI performance compared to the previous generation, ensuring smoother use of features like voice assistants, real-time translation, and image recognition with reduced latency.
Arm also announced its new Mali G1 GPU family, which comes in Ultra, Premium, and Pro versions. Designed for both gaming and AI-driven graphics tasks, the GPU aims to provide a better balance of performance and efficiency. Together, the C1 CPU cluster and Mali G1 GPU form part of Arm’s new Lumex compute subsystem (CSS), which is built to meet the rising demand for AI-driven mobile and edge computing.
The C1-Ultra stands out as the flagship, offering up to 25 percent more performance per clock compared to the Cortex-X925 while using less power. This makes it especially important for future flagship smartphones that demand both speed and long-lasting efficiency.
Since Arm licenses its designs to chipmakers, companies such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung are expected to integrate the new C1 CPUs and Mali G1 GPUs into their upcoming processors. This means the next wave of Android smartphones, tablets, and even laptops could see significant improvements in AI capabilities, energy management, and overall computing performance.
With the launch of the C1 CPU series, Arm has reinforced its role as a leader in mobile processor innovation, setting the stage for a new era of on-device AI computing and smartphone efficiency.