what are the advantages of 32 bits and 16 bits microcontroller?

[liletian]

my understanding is that it depends on applications.

normally 32 bits microcontroller have larger register and can thus handle more complictaed work. For example, it is easy to load larger data in 32 bits machine.

however, for small task, 16 bits microcontroller uses much less power since they have less memory.

But you can not generally say that 16 bits consumes less power than 32 bits machine, right?

it is similiar between 32 bits machine and 64 bits machine, right?

 

[johnjoe]

power consumption also depends on frequency, supply voltage, technology node of the chip and so. In most cases it's "harder" to program a 32-bit microcontroller, means if you just want to control small things, it's often better to take a 16-bit microcontroller. So in this case, it's not always true that 16-bit MCU consume less power than 32-bit.

 

[horace1]

many manufacturers have low power versions of their products, e.g. Microchip
https://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/technology/xlp/

there are also application notes with advice on reducing power consumption
https://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41200c.pdf
https://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/AppNotes/01416a.pdf

in general one selects a microcomputer depending on the target system requirements
https://www.microchip.com/maps/microcontroller.aspx

these days unless dealing with a thousands of units where cost is critical we would use 16bit or 32bit systems where power and facilities make product development simpler and faster

 

[jamesnzt]

a 16 bit micro controller can address upto 2^16=64KB of memory, while a 32 bit microcontroller can address upto 2^32 =4GB of memory. Based upon your application requirement of memory addressing you can choose between 32 bit or 16 bit.

 

[Miralipoor]

Price and address range and instruction sets are factors to be be compromised