Agreed that architecture is only a (possibly small) part but Arm’s business model and the other things that Arm brings to the table are also relevant. For example the small / large core approach that Apple uses hasn’t previously been an x86 feature (although clearly that is changing).
Also non Apple Arm CPUs do outclass x86 in a huge segment of the cpu marketplace - on smartphones and tablets.
I’d don’t think that anyone previously has thrown the amount of cash at laptop / desktop / server Arm designs that Intel spends on x86 designs - we are now seeing a number of firms having a serious go (AWS / Ampere / Qualcomm / Nvidia possibly) so with Intel fighting back on its process issues it will be an interesting few years!
I'm curious to see how Alder Lake's clone of the ARM big.LITTLE design performs. I wouldn't be surprised if at the very least it lets Intel beat out AMD in the mobile CPU space. (Which would be great simply because Ryzen 4000 laptops are near impossible to get)
Also non Apple Arm CPUs do outclass x86 in a huge segment of the cpu marketplace - on smartphones and tablets.
I’d don’t think that anyone previously has thrown the amount of cash at laptop / desktop / server Arm designs that Intel spends on x86 designs - we are now seeing a number of firms having a serious go (AWS / Ampere / Qualcomm / Nvidia possibly) so with Intel fighting back on its process issues it will be an interesting few years!