ARM big.LITTLE

ARM big.LITTLE is a heterogeneous computing architecture developed by ARM Holdings, coupling relatively battery-saving and slower processor cores (LITTLE) with relatively more powerful and power-hungry ones (big). The intention is to create a multi-core processor that can adjust better to dynamic computing needs and use less power than clock scaling alone. ARM's marketing material promises up to a 75% savings in power usage for some activities. Most commonly, ARM big.LITTLE architectures are used to create a multi-processor system-on-chip (MPSoC).

In October 2011, big.LITTLE was announced along with the Cortex-A7, which was designed to be architecturally compatible with the Cortex-A15. In October 2012 ARM announced the Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 (ARMv8-A) cores, which are also intercompatible to allow their use in a big.LITTLE chip. ARM later announced the Cortex-A12 at Computex 2013 followed by the Cortex-A17 in February 2014. Both the Cortex-A12 and the Cortex-A17 can also be paired in a big.LITTLE configuration with the Cortex-A7.