ARM realized that this was a problem when they got into smartphones, and while the lineup was a total and complete mess in 2008, their modern high-end chips actually provide a pretty uniform experience.
The half-watt microcontroller replacements still need custom builds, but the chips used in top-line smartphones can now all run the same compiled OS and apps. They are going to do a 64-bit transition soon, it will be very interesting how that will turn out.
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ARM realized that this was a problem when they got into smartphones, and while the lineup was a total and complete mess in 2008, their modern high-end chips actually provide a pretty uniform experience.
The half-watt microcontroller replacements still need custom builds, but the chips used in top-line smartphones can now all run the same compiled OS and apps. They are going to do a 64-bit transition soon, it will be very interesting how that will turn out.