Published in PC Hardware

Toshiba launches SoC for wearables

by on01 April 2014



48MHz beast with plenty of sensors

Toshiba has launched its first SoC designed specifically for wearable devices. The ApP Lite TZ1001MBG is based on ARM's Cortex M4F processor clocked at 48MHz, a clock speed that sounds like a throwback from the early nineties.

However, it's not supposed to run Candy Crush. The chip will power bracelets, activity monitors, smart watches and glasses. In addition to the Cortex M4F, the chip also features and accelerometer and a there is a version with a gyro and a magnetometer.

The chip relies on Bluetooth connectivity to connect to smartphones and tablets and it also has its own NAND flash.

The Tosh SoC is clearly not intended to power fancy wearables like the Moto 360 or Google Glass, but it does have a few things going for it. With a Tiny M4F core clocked at 48MHz, it should be extremely frugal, which is not the case with many chips used in wearables today, as they were designed for somewhat bigger mobile devices.

Toshiba hopes to start shipping the new wearable SoC in September.

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