The main advantage of CMOS chips over earlier technologies is:

CMOS chips, which stand for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, offer significant advantages primarily due to their lower power consumption. This characteristic is crucial in various applications, especially those involving battery-powered devices, where energy efficiency is essential. The design of CMOS technology allows it to consume power only when switching states, meaning that in a static state, the power consumption is minimal. This is in stark contrast to earlier technologies like bipolar transistors, which consume more power both during operation and at rest.

Additionally, the reduced power consumption results in less heat production, making CMOS chips advantageous in terms of thermal management, which is particularly important for maintaining performance and reliability in compact electronic devices. While other factors such as processing speed and data storage capabilities may be improved with advances in technology, the hallmark benefit of CMOS technology has consistently been its efficiency in power usage.