Security
The Sixth Generation A-Series also comes with its own dedicated 32-bit ARM A5 processor embedded inside. The capabilities of the ARM chipset will be extended to select third-party developers to keep things secure. The ARM core on the APU SoC creates a secure container.
The ARM chipset is like having a TPM inside the A-Series SoC, says Jason Bantam, AMD's director of mobility solutions. There is also a cryptographic co-processor that handles encryption.
When asked about mobile workstations with discrete and integrated AMD graphics, Bantam says that the company will be making those announcements at a later date.
AMD innovations
To showcase the power of its APU, AMD has also created software that takes advantage of the stronger processing performance. AMD Looking Glass is an application that recognizes faces inside videos, so you can search for specific faces of people inside videos. It's like image searches, but for video clips.
Additionally, the APU also supports gestures and Windows 10. Even though Kozak would not comment on Windows Hello support, he alluded that the APU will be able to handle Microsoft Passport and Windows Hello for added security.
The chipset will also support ARM Trustzone apps, Secure boot and resume, TPM, and drive key encryption for enterprise users.
We'll need to get our hands on final production units of laptops running AMD's Sixth Generation APU to see how they compare against their Intel counterparts before making any final verdicts, but the demos that AMD had set up show promise.
- Read our analysis on why smaller is better when it comes to CPU design
