One of the key factors that has been holding back wearables and other mobile devices from taking off is the tension between form factor and battery size. A large battery gives enough power for a number of different sensors and displays, but in turn also ruins the sleek and thin look of the device itself. Many component and battery manufacturers are working on very low-power components in order to lower this tension.

Profiled in an article in EETimes, QuickLogic has come up with a way to substantially lower the energy cost of sensors for modern smartphones and wearables. The ArcticLink 3 S2 wearable/smartphone sensor hub draws less than 150μW at 1.5V, representing a 30 percent drop in power consumption. The platform manages up to 12 different sensors, including inertial, environmental and heart rate sensors. It is also backwards compatible with the last generation of the ArcticLink 3, meaning that developers will not have to go back and rewrite all of their code.

Why does this matter? Because a more capable sensor hub allows the Application Processor to stay in sleep mode longer. As the AP is typically the most power-hungry component on a mobile device, this means that with a more power efficient sensor hub like this one – and more are certain to come from other companies – the device can be turned on longer without needing a bigger battery. In all probability, this is not an overnight game-changer, but is one example of how better power management in components can help ease the form factor-battery size tension.