News highlights
Arm CSS for Mobile 2 is a new AI-native compute platform designed for the system level demands of agentic AI and a new generation of cinematic mobile graphics
The new Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX is the industry’s most advanced mobile GPU, introducing dedicated neural accelerators to unlock a new class of graphics experiences previously out of reach
The new Arm C2 CPU cluster combines Arm C2-Ultra, Arm’s most powerful mobile CPU, and C2-Pro CPUs with two SME2 units to support responsive on-device AI
AI is changing the mobile workload. As AI moves from individual features to persistent, agentic experiences, an agent needs to do much more than run inference. It must maintain context, run applications, coordinate models and services, and act on a user’s behalf – all within the power and thermal limits of a smartphone. At the same time, there is a huge opportunity for AI-native graphics to push beyond what users expect from a mobile device. Mobile devices need a compute platform built for this new era, bringing CPUs, GPUs and system IP together in a way that developers can easily utilize and apply to next-generation AI workloads. Arm is at the heart of the mobile ecosystem and uniquely positioned to deliver that platform.
Today, Arm introduced CSS for Mobile 2, bringing together agentic AI and AI-native graphics in a single compute platform. CSS for Mobile 2 includes the new Arm Mali G2-Ultra NX GPU, the Arm C2 CPU cluster with SME2, enhanced system IP, physical implementations and a developer-ready software ecosystem in a platform optimized for next-generation mobile devices. For silicon partners, that means a faster path to differentiated products; for developers, a common platform to build and deploy AI at scale; and for users, more responsive, personal and visually rich experiences.
AI-native graphics comes to Mali
Neural technologies are opening up a new approach to mobile graphics. Instead of relying entirely on traditional rendering, they can reconstruct, enhance and generate visual detail, creating new opportunities to increase performance and visual quality. Gaming is where that shift is particularly visible, with players today expecting richer worlds, cinematic lighting and smoother, higher resolution gameplay on their mobile devices. As the world’s leading mobile GPU provider, Arm can bring these AI-native graphics to billions of devices.
Mali G2-Ultra NX is the first Mali GPU with dedicated neural accelerators, tightly integrating neural and traditional graphics processing for the highest efficiency and responsiveness. With graphics and neural processing in the same pipeline, those workloads can run where the graphics already live. This gives developers new ways to rethink trade-offs between performance, efficiency and visual quality. The GPU also introduces a new execution engine and next-generation Ray Tracing Unit, designed for increasingly complex graphics workloads and modern game engine features.
Together with Arm Neural Technology, Mali G2-Ultra NX delivers up to 4x higher performance per watt for neural graphics. That step-change in efficiency creates the headroom for richer, more sophisticated graphics experiences.
We also continue to advance traditional graphics, delivering up to 14% higher performance on existing game content compared with the previous generation.
Neural Dawn, developed with Sumo Digital, demonstrates the new level of graphics experiences we’re enabling on Mali G2-Ultra NX. Leading game engines and studios are also integrating Arm Neural Technology into developer flows, including Tencent Games Central Tech’s MagicDawn and Unity China’s Tuanjie Engine. And it’s already moving into real games: NetEase’s Where Winds Meet is planning to bring its NSS-enabled version to players this year, alongside an NSSD technology demonstration using Tencent Games’ Arena Breakout Infinite, and NSS integration with Infold Games’ Infinity Nikki.
The CPU is the heart of agentic AI
AI is also changing how devices think. As AI moves from completing individual tasks to managing increasingly complex workflows, the CPU becomes the orchestration engine, maintaining context, scheduling workloads and coordinating work across the wider compute system, ensuring AI agents remain responsive as they reason, plan and act.
The new Arm C2 CPU cluster combines our highest-performance CPU, the C2-Ultra, and efficiency-focused C2-Pro CPUs with two SME2 units, enabling responsive, low-latency AI directly on the CPU while working seamlessly alongside accelerators. The doubled SME2 capability in the CPU cluster will enable 70% speedup on the latest Small Language Models and strengthens the CPU’s ability to accelerate AI workloads. Compared with C1-Ultra, C2-Ultra delivers up to 1.7x higher AI performance and 15% higher single-thread performance, while using up to 38% less power at the same performance.
SME2 continues to see tremendous traction and exists in leading Android and iOS handsets with the SME2 ecosystem including Alipay, Google AI Edge Gallery, OPPO and vivo.
Developer-ready from day one
New hardware only matters when developers can easily access it through familiar tools and frameworks. CSS for Mobile 2 builds on Arm’s continued investment across the AI software ecosystem, from Arm KleidiAI to the Arm Neural Graphics Development Kit, providing the software and open interfaces to build for these new capabilities. Our new AI Portal provides a single-entry point for developers and agents to discover, evaluate and use optimized models, code and tools.
CSS for Mobile 2: the platform for the next generation of edge AI
Agentic AI and neural graphics are changing what mobile devices need to do – and the AI-native CSS for Mobile 2 is how we’re evolving the platform underneath them. The next era of mobile AI won’t be defined by a single accelerator, but by infusing AI capabilities together in one optimized system to deliver new mobile experiences.
By Chris Bergey, Executive Vice President, Edge AI, Arm
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