Here is a weird fact I have been thinking about this evening:

Helio X20 was the only mainstream ARM processor that had 10 CPU cores. It was first introduced in 2015, however no more ARM processors with high core count were used since then..

Nowadays smartphone processors have `8` cores max 🤔🧐

I guess 8 cores the reasonable limit for smartphones. Must have something to do with cost-to-performance factor

Consumer platforms don't parallelise that much to justify higher core count. Even desktop CPUs are mostly 6 or 8 core ones. High core ones are special server grade stuff.

Because it's enough.

Higher core count doesn't equal higher performance.

Most software doesn't even use modern X86 extensions, e.g. remember Destiny 2 requiring SSSE 3 - then later removing this via patch, despite claiming first that that should never happen.

Scheduling is problematic, too - especially in Windows (e.g. the ZEN debacle).

Leaving software / os - hardware design is tricky.

Interconnect between CPUs, shared caches, preventing security holes, ...

Last but not least: It's really enough.

Most software cannot use the available hardware at all - despite people building machines that are just a waste of dollars because they think they can squeeze more performance out of software by stuffing ridiculous amount of hardware in it....

NXP has sold 16 core Arm processors for a while, they are decently priced, if you got more money, I recall someone else selling 24 core Arm