Remote virtual smartphones promise the same benefits as remote computer desktops and cloud-based gaming: low-cost client hardware, sandboxed user environments, and persistent user state. The way they work is that the physical smartphone runs only thin-client software and the smartphone application runs remotely on a server. To be economical, this server hosts multiple of these virtual smartphones, taking advantage of hardware virtualization support built into its processor. Slotted into the machine, an add-on GPU provides high-performance graphics. To reduce latency for real-time gameplay, the server is best located near the end-user in the edge of the mobile network. For virtual smartphones to be compatible with physical smartphones, Arm compatibility is required.
At the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show, NXP demonstrated the Layerscape LX2160A processor hosting Redfinger’s cloud-based Android emulator and virtual smartphone. NXP’s processor integrates 16 CPU cores, enabling it to host 16 or more virtual smartphones. Games and other software execute with the same look and feel as if they were running locally on a smartphone. Like other Layerscape processors, the LX2160A delivers excellent performance per watt and is designed to work in high-temperature environments, such as being packed densely in a rack in a data center or deployed remotely at an edge-computing site. Although NXP designed it for stringent embedded applications, the LX2160A processor is powerful enough for servers—making it a great solution for Android emulation.
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QorIQ LX2160A Development Board | NXP |
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Discover i.MX: Industry-Leading Processor Solution for Media, Smart Home, Smart Industrial, Health/M... |
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Layerscape |