8051 is now some 45 years old. Much of its principial designers - such as John Wharton - are not amongst us anymore.

For at least 20 years, asm programming - in which '51 excels - is being frowned upon. I personally haven't touched any 8051 code in the last 15 years, and went over to the "dark side" of 32-bitters.

So, the 8051 - and generally the notion of single-clock-controlled, cycle-predictable microcontroller - should have become a historical footnote by now.

Yet, link to this announcement landed recently into my mailbox:

Hsinchu, Taiwan - July 31, 2025 - Nuvoton Technology releases the enhanced 1T-8051 microcontroller series – NuMicro® MG51, tailored for applications such as home appliances, LED dimming, motor control, and industrial automation.

Key Features of the NuMicro® MG51 Series:
High-Speed Core: 1T-8051 core running up to 24 MHz.
Rich Memory: Up to 64 KB of Flash memory, 4 KB of SRAM, and 4 KB of LDROM.
Robust Operation: Wide voltage (2.4V-5.5V) and industrial temperature (-40°C to +105°C) support.
High Noise Immunity: 7 kV ESD (HBM) and 4.4 kV EFT protection.
Advanced Control: Up to 12-channel PWM for precise motor control.
Flexible Communication: Up to 5 UARTs, SPI, and I²C interfaces.
High-Precision Sensing: 15-channel, 12-bit ADC with 500 kSPS sampling rate.
Ample I/O: Up to 46 GPIOs with flexible interrupt configuration.
[...]

JW