New chip family brings advanced AI processing, wireless flexibility, and extreme efficiency to next-gen wearables, healthcare, and IoT devices.
Ambiq Micro has unveiled its latest innovation in ultra-low-power computing — the Apollo510 Lite System-on-Chip (SoC) Series — designed to bring always-on intelligence to edge devices without compromising energy efficiency. The new series extends Apollo5 family and is tailored for power-sensitive applications such as wearables, medical instruments, industrial sensors, and smart home systems.
At the heart of the Series is Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology (SPOT), which delivers a major leap in performance-per-watt. The chips are said to achieve up to 16 times faster performance and 30 times better AI energy efficiency than comparable Cortex-M4 or M33-based solutions. This means devices can now handle advanced workloads like sensor fusion, health analytics, or voice recognition while drastically extending battery life — a key advantage for compact, continuously operating systems.
The key specifications are:
- Processor: 250 MHz Arm Cortex-M55 CPU with turboSPOT® and Helium™ extensions for efficient AI acceleration.
- Coprocessor: Dedicated Arm Cortex-M4F handles wireless and sensor tasks for balanced performance.
- Memory: Integrated 2 MB RAM and 2 MB non-volatile memory with fast instruction/data caches for smooth AI execution.
Connectivity is another major highlight. It supports Bluetooth Low Energy 5.4 with +14 dBm transmit power for extended range, as well as dual-mode Bluetooth (Classic + LE) for backward-compatible low-power audio. Security features are baked in through secureSPOT 3.0, which combines Arm TrustZone, secure boot, and authenticated firmware updates to protect data and devices from tampering.
Available in three variants — Apollo510 Lite (without BLE), Apollo510B Lite (BLE-enabled), and Apollo510D Lite (dual-mode Bluetooth) — the series caters to diverse product needs across consumer and industrial markets. Sampling has already begun, with volume production expected in Q1 2026. By combining AI-ready compute, robust connectivity, and unmatched energy efficiency, Ambiq’s Apollo510 Lite sets a new benchmark for what’s possible in the fast-growing world of edge AI.
