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by vbezhenar 835 days ago
If it runs Linux, it's MPU. If it runs bare firmware, it's MCU.
2 comments

No this not a really good criteria. There is Linux support for a few MCUs, including a few STM32 Series. Having a MMU is a much better criteria.
Then the 8-bit ATMega328p in the Arduino Uno is an MPU[1]. Except it's solidly an MCU. I'd say if it uses external RAM as its main memory, and external storage as its main storage, then it's an MPU. If the RAM is all internal, and the storage is all (or can be all) internal, it's an MCU.

[1] https://github.com/raspiduino/arv32-opt

That’s a gimmick. I’m talking about how given chip is supposed to be used in a real products, whether vendor supplies Linux builds in one way or another, etc.