Beancounters at IMS Research have added up the numbers, divided by their shoe size, and discovered that half of the $111 billion processor market was generated by hybrid processors that included two or more different types of processor cores.  

Most notable of these is the 2010 introduction of the combined central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) by both Intel and AMD. IMS said that the hybridization has eliminated the market for the integrated graphics chipset, but the GPU market is expected to continue thriving at estimated revenue CAGR of 4.1 percent from 2011 through 2016.

It said that the hybridization was a critical step in upping the competitive edge in computers but is also a step for these vendors into smartphones, tablets and other high performance embedded devices. “Hybrid applications processor growth in smartphones and tablets are predicted with upwards of a 10 percent and 14 percent CAGR from 2011 to 2016 respectively,” the report said,

The report's author Tom Hackenberg said that the last decade the mobile and media consumption device markets have been pivotal for this hybridization trend.