Arm Unveils New CSS for Mobile 2 Platform With AI-Powered Graphics and CPU Upgrades

Arm has a new platform for smartphones, and this one is all about making AI work harder without draining the device. The company has introduced CSS for Mobile 2, bringing agentic AI and AI-native graphics together across the CPU, GPU, and system hardware.

The GPU gets dedicated AI hardware

One of the highlights is the new Mali G2-Ultra NX GPU. This is Arm’s first Mali GPU with dedicated neural accelerators built directly into the graphics pipeline. Arm says this setup can deliver up to 4x higher performance per watt for neural graphics.

The GPU also brings a new execution engine and a next-generation Ray Tracing Unit for more demanding mobile graphics. Traditional gaming performance gets a bump as well. Arm claims up to 14% higher performance on existing game content compared with the previous generation.

Neural Dawn, developed with Sumo Digital, is already being used to demonstrate the technology. Games such as Where Winds Meet are also planning to bring Arm Neural Technology to players.

The CPU is getting more AI power

The new Arm C2 CPU cluster combines the C2-Ultra with efficiency-focused C2-Pro CPUs. Two SME2 units are also included, giving the CPU more room to handle AI workloads directly. Arm says the setup can deliver a 70% speedup on the latest Small Language Models. Compared with C1-Ultra, the C2-Ultra offers up to 1.7x higher AI performance and 15% higher single-thread performance.

Power efficiency gets attention too. Arm claims up to 38% less power at the same performance level, which could help phones handle heavier AI workloads.

Arm wants developers ready from day one

CSS for Mobile 2 also comes with Arm’s software tools, including KleidiAI and the Neural Graphics Development Kit. The company has also introduced an AI Portal for discovering models, code, and development tools.

All that said, Arm seems to be betting that future smartphones will need more than standalone AI features. Its new platform is designed for agents that can maintain context, run apps, coordinate services, and act for users.