ARM has announced the latest entry in its Cortex-M line, which it claims is the world's most energy efficient microprocessor. The Cortex-M0+ is the successor to the Cortex-M0, which was notable for being ARM's smallest available architecture. The M0+ retains the small size, but also manages to cut down energy use by a third compared to current 8- and 16-bit processors. This is in spite of the fact that it's actually 32-bit, meaning that it can deliver better performance while consuming less power. The new processor has already been licensed by two semiconductor companies, Freescale and NXP, and ARM says that it is optimized for microcontrollers that can be used for both sensor and control systems. The company expects the M0+ to be used in everything from home appliances to automotive and medical applications — in other words, don't expect to see this powering your next smartphone.