Rockchip Bows Low-Power SoC It Says Rivals Bluetooth LE in Power Consumption

Chinese semiconductor company Rockchip launched an ultra-low-power Wi-Fi system-on-a-chip (SoC) at Computex Tuesday that’s said to cut power consumption of standard Wi-Fi-based IoT devices by 85 percent. The Rockchip RKi6000 claims power consumption equal to that of Bluetooth Low Energy, with receiving power consumption roughly 20 mAh during use. Wi-Fi previously couldn't be incorporated into portable devices with an electrical current limit, Rockchip said, but the RKi6000’s processor and memory technology resolves the power issue, enabling a broader adoption of IoT in everyday products by providing “more efficient power, a lower price, smaller size, and the ability to use Wi-Fi for the development of IoT devices.” Products incorporating Rockchip’s technology can be powered by a coin battery, and AAA batteries powering the SoC can be used for up to 35 years, it said. Target applications include wearables, CE, home appliances, home safety, automation systems, cars and medical equipment, it said. The RKi6000 is expected to be available in Q3.