Many devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) are battery-operated or they may even use power-scavenging systems. The bottom line is that the process tends to be the part of the system using the most power, so optimizing how it uses power is critical.​

The typical way to minimize power requirements is to run at full speed for as little time as possible and power down at other times. These days, most micros have a range of power-down modes with different power-utilization features that developers can take advantage of depending on the application. Some may only need to run the real-time clock (RTC), while others may have to maintain some or all of the RAM contents.​

These methods usually help with almost any microcontroller, but what other options do developers have when choosing a low power platform?