Systems on a Chip (SOCs) as Fast As Possible

**The Evolution of Systems on a Chip (SoC): How Smartphones Have Grown Over Decades**

As we sit down to review this episode of "Fast as Possible," I noticed the folder name for the project and asked John, "What is a system on a chip?" He replied with a smile, "You're in luck—it's all explained right here in the script we're about to go over. Here we go!"

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**Introduction: The Era of Mobile Computing**

We now live in an era where many of us expect our smartphones—small devices we carry around in our pockets—to perform most of the tasks that a personal computer (PC) could do just a few decades ago. For instance, consider the Samsung Galaxy, which even offers a setting for multiamp anti-aliasing to make mobile games look nicer on its screen. But here's the question: How have smartphones evolved so quickly from being simple novelties that couldn’t even handle copy-paste functions to becoming all-in-one devices capable of handling complex tasks in just over a decade?

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**What Is a System on a Chip (SoC)?**

When I asked John about SoCs, he clarified that when he refers to a "system," he's talking about the essential components that make a phone or tablet function—such as processors, memory, storage, and input-output (IO) controllers. If you've ever built or upgraded a desktop PC, you know that these functions are typically handled by separate components installed on the motherboard. However, an SoC integrates all of these functions into a single piece of silicon, often the same size or even smaller than a conventional CPU.

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**The Power Efficiency Challenge**

One might wonder: How can so many components fit onto just one chip? The answer lies in power efficiency. Since phones and tablets are mobile devices that rely on batteries, their internal components must consume less power and generate less heat. Imagine a phone with only 10 minutes of battery life and a hot stove-like surface—it wouldn’t be practical. Therefore, manufacturers have focused on creating energy-efficient components with fewer transistors, making them physically smaller.

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**Performance Despite Limitations**

While components on an SoC may not match the power of their desktop PC counterparts, they are far from inferior. Many mid-range and high-end SoCs deliver smooth performance. This is partly due to the use of ARM architecture in their CPUs, which runs a smaller, simpler instruction set. This makes processing more efficient, even though it might be less versatile than other architectures.

Moreover, mobile apps and operating systems like iOS and Android are designed specifically for these CPUs. As a result, your phone doesn’t feel sluggish, even if its SoC is several times less powerful than a desktop CPU. For example, the new Apple A10 chip inside the iPhone 7 was the first quad-core chip in an iPhone, while Android devices had been using eight-core chips for years.

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**The Trend Toward Integration: From Mobile to Desktop**

This integration concept isn’t limited to mobile devices; it’s also finding its way into desktops. While PCs aren't yet packing everything—like RAM and LTE communication logic—onto a single die or package, the trend toward consolidation has been evident for decades. Intel was one of the first companies to move components like the cache from external chips directly onto the CPU, while AMD recently integrated memory controllers into the CPU die (previously a separate chip called the Northbridge).

At first glance, this might seem like unnecessary complexity. However, the reduction in latency and power consumption from having these components closer together more than compensates for any wasted die space or additional costs.

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**Onboard Graphics: The Next Frontier**

This trend extends to onboard graphics as well. We’re seeing advancements in integrated GPUs (graphics processing units) that provide solutions for light to moderate gaming. Intel’s Iris Pro and AMD’s Apu series are examples of how on-chip graphics can deliver decent performance, even if they don’t match the power of a full-fat GPU.

With the rapid pace of technological advancement, it might not be too far off before we see entire systems the size of a postage stamp—or at least CPUs that can handle complex tasks in a compact form. Speaking of postage stamps—thank you, internet! We hardly ever need them anymore.

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**FreshBooks: Streamlining Accounting for the Self-Employed**

Thanks to the growth of the internet, there have never been more opportunities for self-employed individuals to thrive. To meet this demand, FreshBooks is excited to announce a new version of its cloud-based accounting software. This updated tool has been redesigned to work seamlessly with how you operate, offering the simplest and easiest way to boost productivity, stay organized, and get paid faster.

With FreshBooks, you can create and send professional-looking invoices in less than 30 seconds—faster than it takes to watch this video! You can also set up online payments in just a couple of clicks and get paid up to four days sooner,告别 (bye) to snail mail. Additionally, you can track when your clients have viewed your invoice, putting an end to the guessing games and excuses.

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**Try FreshBooks for Free**

FreshBooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers. To claim yours, visit [freshbooks.com/tequ](https://www.freshbooks.com/tequ) and enter "Tech Quickie" in the "How Did You Hear About Us?" section.

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**Closing Thoughts: Stay Connected with Tech Quickie**

Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs-up. If not, well, that’s okay too—just let us know by clicking the dislike button. If you’d like to explore more content, check out our other channels or leave a comment with your video suggestions. And if you want to stay updated, don’t forget to subscribe.

So whether you’re marveling at the tiny power of systems on a chip or exploring new tools for your business, remember that innovation is always just a click away. Do it!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso as we were sitting down to review this episode of fast as possible I saw the folder name for the project and I asked John what is a system on a chip and he replied I'm glad you asked it's all in the script we're about to go over so uh here we go then we are now in an era where a lot of us expect the smartphones we carry around in our pockets to do most of the things a PC can I mean the Samsung Galaxy even has a setting for multiamp anti-aliasing so your mobile games will look nicer but given that Flagship phones are much smaller than even the most compact PCS how have they grown from Novelties that can't even copy paste to do it all devices in only about 10 years well much of the growth has been driven by advancements in systems on a chip commonly called s so's well hold on a second lonus my phone isn't a system on chip it has a screen and buttons and a case with rhinestones on it well when I say system I'm talking about all the crucial inerts that a phone or a tablet needs to function like processors memory and storage and IO controllers and if you've ever built or upgraded a desktop PC what you'll know is that for the most part these functions are all handled by different components that you have to either physically install separately or are installed separately on something like a motherboard an S so by contrast integrates multiple or even all of these functions into one piece of silicon that's the same size or even smaller than a conventional CPU but how can all of this stuff fit onto just one chip well remember that because phones and tablets are mobile devices that spend most of their lives running off of a battery a lot of the components inside have to suck less power and produce less heat I mean a phone with a 10-minute battery life that feels like a hot stove top wouldn't do you much good would it so this means that manufacturers have to save energy somehow which usually translates to less powerful components with fewer transistors which makes them physically smaller but just because components on an so don't pack the punch of their desktop PC counterparts doesn't mean that they're bad in fact many mid-range and higher end s so's deliver very smooth performance in part because their CPUs use the arm architecture which runs a smaller simpler instruction set to make processing easier though perhaps less versatile and you can learn more about arm CPUs in this video and because mobile apps and and operating systems like IOS and Android are written for these CPUs that means that you're not waiting around three times longer for your phone to do something even though your s so might be several times less powerful than your desktop rig and if you're an Apple fan their s so's take the concept of less is more even further because unlike Android s so's which have to work with tons of different devices and Brands Apple's s so's only need to work with their own hardware and their own software so iOS has been further optimized to run well on apple chips that are at times less impressive sounding than their Android equivalents on paper for example the new Apple A10 so inside the iPhone 7 is the first quad core chip we've seen in an i device when Androids have been available with eight core chips for years now and we're even seeing the same integration Concept in desktops it's not limited to S so's although PCS aren't packing everything from Ram to LTE communication logic onto the die or even the package for that matter and the trend towards this goes back decades even with Intel being the first to move the cash which used to be an external chip that you plugged in onto the CPU and amd's more recent integration of the memory controller into the CPU die which used to be a separate chip on the motherboard called the Northbridge this might have seemed at first glance like they were just increasing the cpu's complexity for the sake of it when we'd rather just have a bigger more powerful CPU and keep all that stuff offboard but in reality the reduction in cash and memory access latency from getting them closer together more than compensates for the wasted die space and additional cost and this is even true of onboard graphics with better on chip gpus now being pushed as an all-in-one solution for light to moderate gaming as we've seen with Intel's Iris Pro graphics and amd's Apu series not quite the same as a full fat graphics card but who knows with the way things are going maybe one day we will have entire systems the size of a postage stamp or you know failing that even just a modern CPU that can max out crisis speaking of postage stamps thank you internet we hardly ever need those anymore and thanks to the growth of the internet there have never been more opportunities for the self-employed and to meet this need freshbooks is excited to announce an all new version of their Cloud accounting software it's been redesigned for the way that you work and it's the simplest easiest way to be more productive more organiz organized and most importantly to get paid faster you can create and send professionall looking invoices in less than 30 seconds that's right less than the time it takes to watch this integration you can set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to four days faster b-bye snail mail and you can see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the guessing games and the excuses and freshbooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers so to claim it all you got to do is go to freshbooks.com tequ and enter Tech quickie in the how did You Hear About Us section thanks for watching guys if you like this video do that if you disliked it you can do that if you want to check out other channels you can do that and if you want to comment with a video suggestion go ahead and do that and if you want to subscribe then you can do that too do itso as we were sitting down to review this episode of fast as possible I saw the folder name for the project and I asked John what is a system on a chip and he replied I'm glad you asked it's all in the script we're about to go over so uh here we go then we are now in an era where a lot of us expect the smartphones we carry around in our pockets to do most of the things a PC can I mean the Samsung Galaxy even has a setting for multiamp anti-aliasing so your mobile games will look nicer but given that Flagship phones are much smaller than even the most compact PCS how have they grown from Novelties that can't even copy paste to do it all devices in only about 10 years well much of the growth has been driven by advancements in systems on a chip commonly called s so's well hold on a second lonus my phone isn't a system on chip it has a screen and buttons and a case with rhinestones on it well when I say system I'm talking about all the crucial inerts that a phone or a tablet needs to function like processors memory and storage and IO controllers and if you've ever built or upgraded a desktop PC what you'll know is that for the most part these functions are all handled by different components that you have to either physically install separately or are installed separately on something like a motherboard an S so by contrast integrates multiple or even all of these functions into one piece of silicon that's the same size or even smaller than a conventional CPU but how can all of this stuff fit onto just one chip well remember that because phones and tablets are mobile devices that spend most of their lives running off of a battery a lot of the components inside have to suck less power and produce less heat I mean a phone with a 10-minute battery life that feels like a hot stove top wouldn't do you much good would it so this means that manufacturers have to save energy somehow which usually translates to less powerful components with fewer transistors which makes them physically smaller but just because components on an so don't pack the punch of their desktop PC counterparts doesn't mean that they're bad in fact many mid-range and higher end s so's deliver very smooth performance in part because their CPUs use the arm architecture which runs a smaller simpler instruction set to make processing easier though perhaps less versatile and you can learn more about arm CPUs in this video and because mobile apps and and operating systems like IOS and Android are written for these CPUs that means that you're not waiting around three times longer for your phone to do something even though your s so might be several times less powerful than your desktop rig and if you're an Apple fan their s so's take the concept of less is more even further because unlike Android s so's which have to work with tons of different devices and Brands Apple's s so's only need to work with their own hardware and their own software so iOS has been further optimized to run well on apple chips that are at times less impressive sounding than their Android equivalents on paper for example the new Apple A10 so inside the iPhone 7 is the first quad core chip we've seen in an i device when Androids have been available with eight core chips for years now and we're even seeing the same integration Concept in desktops it's not limited to S so's although PCS aren't packing everything from Ram to LTE communication logic onto the die or even the package for that matter and the trend towards this goes back decades even with Intel being the first to move the cash which used to be an external chip that you plugged in onto the CPU and amd's more recent integration of the memory controller into the CPU die which used to be a separate chip on the motherboard called the Northbridge this might have seemed at first glance like they were just increasing the cpu's complexity for the sake of it when we'd rather just have a bigger more powerful CPU and keep all that stuff offboard but in reality the reduction in cash and memory access latency from getting them closer together more than compensates for the wasted die space and additional cost and this is even true of onboard graphics with better on chip gpus now being pushed as an all-in-one solution for light to moderate gaming as we've seen with Intel's Iris Pro graphics and amd's Apu series not quite the same as a full fat graphics card but who knows with the way things are going maybe one day we will have entire systems the size of a postage stamp or you know failing that even just a modern CPU that can max out crisis speaking of postage stamps thank you internet we hardly ever need those anymore and thanks to the growth of the internet there have never been more opportunities for the self-employed and to meet this need freshbooks is excited to announce an all new version of their Cloud accounting software it's been redesigned for the way that you work and it's the simplest easiest way to be more productive more organiz organized and most importantly to get paid faster you can create and send professionall looking invoices in less than 30 seconds that's right less than the time it takes to watch this integration you can set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to four days faster b-bye snail mail and you can see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the guessing games and the excuses and freshbooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers so to claim it all you got to do is go to freshbooks.com tequ and enter Tech quickie in the how did You Hear About Us section thanks for watching guys if you like this video do that if you disliked it you can do that if you want to check out other channels you can do that and if you want to comment with a video suggestion go ahead and do that and if you want to subscribe then you can do that too do it\n"