The deal gives the Chinese chipmaker access to ARMv8-A, along with Cortex A57 and A53 processors. Rockchip has also licensed the ARMv7-based Cortex A12 and ARM’s Mali GPU family as well as ARM CoreLink interconnect technology.

“This subscription license of ARM technologies enables us to continue building a comprehensive technology and product roadmap, demonstrating our commitment to enabling the next-generation Smartphone, Tablet, Android Notebook, Phablet and

Internet TV products with higher performance and power efficiency for consumers across the globe,” said Feng Chen, Chief Marketing Office, Rockchip.

Rockchip currently produces a range of dual- and quad-core A9 parts and it is expected to launch its first A12 part early next year. Interestingly, Rockchip does not do A7-based parts like many competitors, such as Mediatek.

However, the licensing deal will allow it to come up with A53 products and the A53 is practically ARM’s 64-bit successor to the A7.