What is the MCX Portfolio?

Building on the strength of more than 20 years of industry-leading Kinetis and LPC portfolios, the MCX portfolio debuts a new generation of scalable, secure and developer-focused microcontrollers. The Arm ® Cortex ® -M based MCX portfolio is purpose-built on a common foundation of core technologies that support vast industrial and IoT use cases. These 32-bit, flash-based microcontrollers provide expanded product capabilities with memory scalability and a broad package offering. A simplified system design offers optimal enablement and intelligent peripherals for the intelligent edge including: machine learning, wireless, voice, motor control, analog and more. The portfolio also features the first instantiation of NXP’s new, specialized neural processing unit (NPU) for accelerating inference at the edge, delivering up to 30x faster machine learning throughput compared to a CPU core alone. The new MCX MCU portfolio features four new series of devices supported by NXP’s widely adopted MCUXpresso suite of software and development tools to simplify product development. The MCX N Advanced series is designed for secure, intelligent applications, with families that include an integrated EdgeLock ® secure subsystem and dedicated NPU with a high efficiency compute architecture for real-time inference. The MCX A Essential series is optimized to provide critical functionality for a broad range of applications where cost constraints and time to market are key considerations. The MCX W Wireless series offers low-power narrowband connectivity, including Bluetooth ® Low Energy. Designed to simplify adding wireless connectivity to IoT devices, its energy-efficient radio helps extend the battery life of small connected systems. The MCX L Ultra-Low Power series is designed for power-critical applications. With one of the industry’s lowest dynamic power consumption offerings, these devices can help extend battery life significantly compared to traditional MCUs. Machine learning and run-time inference will be supported by NXP’s eIQ ® ML software development environment . Developers can utilize the easy-to-use tools offered by eIQ to train ML models targeting either the NPU or the CPU core and deploy them on the MCU. MCX families that are built following NXP’s security-by-design approach will offer a secure boot with an immutable root-of-trust, hardware-accelerated cryptography and, on select families, a built-in EdgeLock ® secure subsystem.

How will the Kinetis and LPC portfolios be impacted by the MCX announcement?

The MCX portfolio is not a replacement for Kinetis and LPC portfolios. MCX is a new NXP portfolio that was purpose-built based on our rich history and knowledge of microcontrollers. Our Kinetis and LPC portfolios have been experiencing record demand and are still relevant devices in our industry.

Will it be easy to migrate from existing NXP MCUs to MCX?

Just like Kinetis and LPC, MCX MCUs will be supported by the widely-downloaded MCUXpresso software and tools . Existing Kinetis and LPC users will find the MCX Software Development Kit (SDK) within MCUXpresso to be very similar, with the difference being at the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL); the rest of the drivers are identical.

How do MCX MCUs fit in with the existing NXP products like i.MX application processors, i.MX RT Crossover MCUs, Kinetis and LPC?

p>NXP has one of the broadest offerings of Arm ® -based products. The MCX portfolio extends the existing Kinetis and LPC MCU offerings. When higher performance is needed and/or off-chip flash is desired, i.MX RT Crossover MCUs are the recommended devices. Beyond the crossover portfolio, i.MX applications processors offer even higher performance and support open operating systems like Linux OS.

What is the NXP Neural Processing Unit (NPU)?

The NXP NPU is a specialized computation core that implements control and arithmetic logic necessary to execute machine learning algorithms. The NXP NPU is designed to deliver up to 30x faster machine learning throughput compared to a CPU core alone. It is an Internal NXP development that provides flexibility to tune the NPU to better meet our customer needs and provides the ability to offer better ongoing support for changing applications and operator support needs when deployed. The software support is unified over multiple generations and device portfolios with the eIQ ® ML SW development environment , creating consistent enablement and support solutions for our customers.

What is the NXP EdgeLock ® secure subsystem?

The EdgeLock secure subsystem (ELS) in select MCX families comprises the immutable core security functionality. It is part of the silicon root of trust and features side-channel protected cryptographic acceleration engines, key management, and device attestation. Pre-configured security and key management policies enable device makers to simplify the path to certification and avoid costly mistakes and save development time.

MCX Industrial and IoT Microcontrollers

NXP MCX Microcontrollers (MCUs) are a diverse group of Arm® Cortex®-M MCUs that offer simplified system design. MCX Microcontrollers are optimized for use cases that demand and expanded selection of peripherals and memory options. MCX MCUs bring a developer-focused experience using our MCUXpresso suite of software and tools.

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Scalable MCX Portfolio

Family	Series Overview	Highlights
MCX A Mainstream	Arm Cortex-M33 at up to 180MHz Up to 1 MB Flash, 256KB SRAM, 144 pins	Rich analog peripherals and motor control PWMs Fit for various applications ranging from low power to high performance Scalable device options with pin-to-pin compatibility
MCX N High-Performance Integration	Up to dual ARM Cortex-M33 at 150 MHz Up to 2 MB Flash, 512 kB SRAM, 184 pins	AI/ML, camera, display and audio processing SESIP3 / PSA L3 / FIPS 140-3 certification w/ EdgeLock Secure Enclave Power Line Communication Accelerator
MCX C Value	Arm Cortex-M0+ at up to 48M Hz Up to 256 kB Flash, 32 kB SRAM, 64 pins	2x more CoreMark/mW than 8/16-bit MCUs Compact MCU with 16-bit high-precision ADC Low-cost MCU with USB and segment LCD options
MCX L Ultra-Low Power	Dual Arm Cortex-M33 at up to 96 MHz + Arm Cortex M0+ at 10 MHz Up to 512 kB Flash, 128 kB SRAM, 184 pins	Down to 20+uA/MHz active power Ultra-low-power domain with M0+ and ADC at 5 uA Optimized for always-on, always-sensing applications
MCX E Safety	Arm Cortex-M4F / M7 at up to 160 MHz Up to 4 MB Flash, 128 kB SRAM, 172 pins	5.5 V supply with extended temperature range up to 135 C Up to IEC61508 HW integrity SIL 2 Up to 6x CAN-FD and Ethernet with TSN
MCX W Wireless	Arm Cortex-M33 at up to 96 MHz Up to 2 MB Flash, 256 kB SRAM	Software configurable and upgradable Radio Subsystem Near-zero power consumption in shelf state First MCU with Bluetooth channel sounding

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MCX MCUs deliver scalable, high-performance solutions for AI/ML, motor control and industrial automation.

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What are NXP MCX microcontrollers and what makes them unique?

NXP MCX microcontrollers are a scalable portfolio of Arm® Cortex®-M-based MCUs designed to simplify edge device development. They stand out for their integration of AI/ML capabilities, ultralow power consumption, advanced security features and support for wireless connectivity like Bluetooth and Matter.

Which applications are MCX microcontrollers best suited for?

MCX MCUs are ideal for a wide range of applications including smart home devices, industrial automation, motor control, secure access systems, metering and edge AI. Their versatility makes them suitable for both consumer and industrial-grade solutions.

How do MCX microcontrollers support AI and machine learning at the edge?

MCX MCUs feature the eIQ® Neutron Neural Processing Unit (NPU), enabling efficient TinyML inference for tasks like anomaly detection, object classification and voice recognition. This allows developers to deploy intelligent features on resource-constrained devices.

What security features are built into MCX microcontrollers?

MCX MCUs are designed with security in mind, offering features like EdgeLock® Secure Enclave, TrustZone®, authenticated boot and support for certifications such as SESIP3, PSA Level 3 and FIPS 140-3. These features help ensure device integrity and compliance with industry standards.

How do MCX microcontrollers help reduce power consumption in always-on devices?

With patented Adaptive Dynamic Voltage Control (ADVC) and ultralow power modes (as low as 0.4 µA with RAM retention), MCX MCUs are optimized for always-on, always-sensing applications. This makes them ideal for battery-powered and energy-efficient designs.

What tools and resources are available for developing with MCX microcontrollers?

NXP provides the MCUXpresso Developer Experience, including SDKs, IDEs like Visual Studio Code, FreeMASTER for real-time debugging, and support for Zephyr™ and FreeRTOS. Developers can also access application examples, expansion boards and secure provisioning tools to accelerate.

MCX E Series Microcontrollers

Built for rugged edge environments, MCX E Series powers industrial and IoT with 5 V, safety and scalable performance.

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Documentation

MCX Microcontrollers Scalable, high performance, general-purpose Arm® Cortex®-M based MCUs.	Factsheet	Jul 1, 2025	Rev 1.0

MCX Microcontrollers

Scalable, high performance, general-purpose Arm® Cortex®-M based MCUs.

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Jul 1, 2025

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MCX Industrial and IoT Microcontrollers

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FAQs

What are NXP MCX microcontrollers and what makes them unique?

Which applications are MCX microcontrollers best suited for?

How do MCX microcontrollers support AI and machine learning at the edge?

What security features are built into MCX microcontrollers?

How do MCX microcontrollers help reduce power consumption in always-on devices?

What tools and resources are available for developing with MCX microcontrollers?

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