Arm Holdings has announced the launch of its next-generation Lumex chip designs, engineered to power artificial intelligence applications directly on mobile devices — from smartphones to smartwatches — without requiring an internet connection. The new Lumex series represents a major step in enabling on-device AI by balancing power efficiency and computational performance.
“AI is becoming pretty fundamental to kind of what’s happening, whether it’s kind of real-time interactions or some killer use cases like AI translation,” said Chris Bergey, senior vice president and general manager at Arm. “We’re just seeing (AI) become kind of this expectation.”
The Lumex family includes four types of designs, ranging from energy-efficient models tailored for wearables to high-performance variants optimized for flagship smartphones. The top-tier Lumex designs are built to handle workloads from large AI models — such as generative AI applications — entirely on the device, reducing dependence on cloud computing and improving responsiveness, privacy, and reliability.
This launch is part of Arm’s Compute Subsystems (CSS) business, which provides more complete, ready-to-integrate technology for handset makers and chip designers. By delivering near-production-ready designs, Arm aims to accelerate time-to-market for partners and expand its share of the smartphone and connected device market.
The Lumex chips are optimized for cutting-edge 3-nanometer manufacturing nodes, including the process technology offered by TSMC, which also powers Apple’s latest iPhone chips. Arm said it chose to host the Lumex launch event in China, where most of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers outside of Apple and Samsung are based.
The announcement aligns with Arm’s longer-term strategy to diversify revenue streams and strengthen its position in the semiconductor ecosystem. The company has also indicated plans to explore producing its own chips and has been actively hiring key talent to support this initiative.
By enabling AI-driven applications to run seamlessly on-device, Arm positions Lumex as a critical enabler of the next generation of real-time, private, and high-performance mobile experiences.
