CortexA57

Cortex-A57 is a 64-bit ARM CPU core designed by ARM Holdings, implemented as part of the ARMv8-A architecture. It was introduced as a high-performance successor to the Cortex-A15 and is commonly paired in big.LITTLE configurations with Cortex-A53 cores to balance peak performance with power efficiency. The design targets mobile devices, tablets, and other embedded systems that require capable 64-bit processing.

Architecturally, Cortex-A57 implements out-of-order execution and a superscalar pipeline to improve instruction throughput. It supports the ARMv8-A instruction set, including 64-bit processing and the Advanced SIMD technology known as NEON. The core includes features for security and virtualization, such as TrustZone and hardware-assisted virtualization. It is designed to scale in multi-core configurations with coherent caches and a flexible memory subsystem, enabling efficient performance across varying workloads.

Cortex-A57 has been used in several system-on-chips (SoCs) from different vendors. It contributed to notable mobile SoCs that used a big.LITTLE configuration, pairing faster Cortex-A57 cores with power-efficient Cortex-A53 cores to optimize for both performance and battery life. The core is also relevant for high-end embedded and some server-class implementations that require a capable 64-bit ARM core within a multi-core design.

In the product cycle of ARM’s 64-bit family, Cortex-A57 was succeeded by newer cores such as Cortex-A72, introduced to deliver higher performance and improved efficiency in subsequent generations. The A57 remains part of the historical transition to 64-bit ARM in mainstream mobile devices and certain early 64-bit SoCs.