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You're approaching the question from a different angle. The key word is SoC. Think embedded performance, rather than desktop performance.

Just to give you a few examples... OpenCV for robotics platforms, cheap low-power SDR capable of transmission, SIP encryption and compression. One might argue you could stick a GPU in a robot, I'd personally want something better suited to the task (lower power).

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I fundamentally disagree that SoCs are different than desktop technology. They're just smaller. High-end architectures are already driven to be as power-efficient as possible, so when you cut them down they're still efficient. For example, Kabini is an "SoC" that has the same GCN CU as a "desktop" Kaveri or a discrete Radeon.

ZenoArrow is talking about embedded SoCs though. While Kabini is a SoC, it isn't really suited for embedded applications. These chips usually have a ton of GPIO, built-in support for different communication protocols, analog to digital converters, a lower power draw, etc. etc.

This is wrong. For example, low-power embedded ARM chips are not simply cut-down high-end x86 chips. If you optimize for power usage instead of raw performance, there are many design decisions that come out differently, resulting in a design that is qualitatively different and not just "scaled down powerhorse".

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