Hardware
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Why?
Why is x86 on the way out? There's a few things that are converging:
ARM has much better efficiency and price than x86, and software compatibility is basically solved. There aren't really any fundamental reasons left to stick with x86, so when more systems become available (it's pretty limited right now) people will switch.
AMD would need to license it though, Apple pays the lowest licensing fees, about half of the other licensees. Meanwhile, they have a full x86 license in a practical duopoly.
ARM has become less attractive ever since SoftBank bought them in my opinion, if I was AMD or Intel, I'd rather invest into RISC-V than put money into a company that has gotten more restrictive with licensing over the years.
Yeah good point about the license. I guess it depends on the terms they have.
Still, 80% of something is better than 100% of nothing...
RISC-V isn't quite mature enough to replace AMD's chips yet but it would make sense as a long term goal.