It has been true for many years in the semiconductor industry that even very complex applications require a range of design solutions and do not always require the most expensive solution. While it is true that SoCs with the highest design costs probably contain the most complexity, it does not necessarily follow that every product in a given geometry must also incur the same high costs to be competitive. Silicon designers and system architects are constantly looking for ways to reduce their design costs and still meet market requirements and ASP targets.
