The Apple A5 is a
32-bit
In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...
system on a chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) designed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
and manufactured by
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
. The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the
iPad 2
The iPad 2 is a tablet designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to the first iPad, as the second model in the iPad line, it gained a faster dual core A5 processor, a lighter build structure, and was the first iPad to feature ...
. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011 that the
ARM Cortex-A9
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ...
central processing unit
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...
(CPU) in the A5 is up to two times faster than the CPU in the
Apple A4
The Apple A4 is a 32-bit package on package (PoP) system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. It was the first SoC Apple designed in-house. The first product to feature the A4 was the first-generation iPad, follo ...
, and the
PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
(GPU) in the A5 is up to nine times faster than the GPU in the A4. Apple also claimed that the A5 uses the same amount of power as the A4.
The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an A5 (iPad 2 CDMA,
iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S (originally styled as iPhone 4 S, retroactively stylized with a lowercase 's' as iPhone 4s as of September 2013) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iOS devices, fifth generation o ...
, and
first-generation iPad Mini cellular models) was
iOS 9.3.6, which was released on July 22, 2019 as they were discontinued with the release of
iOS 10
iOS 10 is the iOS version history, tenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 9. It was announced at the company's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Worldwide Developers Conf ...
in 2016. The latest operating system update Apple has provided for an Apple TV containing an A5 (
third-generation Apple TV and
third-generation Rev A Apple TV) was
Apple TV Software 7.9, which was released on March 14, 2022.
Design
The A5 chip features a
dual-core
A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such a ...
45 nm
Cortex-A9
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ...
CPU (shrunk to 32 nm in later versions of the chip) including the
Advanced SIMD (Neon) extension,
and a dual-core 32 nm
PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU.
The A5 integrates an
image signal processor unit (ISP) that can perform advanced image post-processing, such as face detection, white balance, and automatic image stabilization.
The A5 also directly integrates
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
earSmart technology for removing surrounding background noise and secondary voices during phone calls.
The
clock rate
In computing, the clock rate or clock speed typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses, which are used to synchronize the operations of its components, and is used as an indicator of the pr ...
of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the
iPad 2
The iPad 2 is a tablet designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to the first iPad, as the second model in the iPad line, it gained a faster dual core A5 processor, a lighter build structure, and was the first iPad to feature ...
and
first-generation iPad Mini is 1 GHz. Both of these devices, unlike devices containing the A4 with a clock rate of 1 GHz, can automatically underclock their A5 chip to save battery life.
The clock rate of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the
iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S (originally styled as iPhone 4 S, retroactively stylized with a lowercase 's' as iPhone 4s as of September 2013) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iOS devices, fifth generation o ...
and
fifth-generation iPod Touch is 800 MHz (
underclocked
Underclocking, also known as downclocking, is modifying a computer or electronic circuit's timing settings to run at a lower clock rate than is specified. Underclocking is used to reduce a computer's power consumption, increase battery life, redu ...
from 1 GHz). It is unknown what the clock rate of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the
third-generation Apple TV and
third-generation Rev A Apple TV is.
When the A5 was first released, the production cost of the chip was estimated to be 75% more than the A4, with the difference expected to diminish when production would later increase. , the A5 was manufactured at Samsung's
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
factory.
Samsung invested $3.6 billion in the Austin facility to produce various chips, and nearly all of the facility's output was dedicated to producing Apple chips. Samsung later invested a further $4.2 billion in the Austin facility in order to transition to a
28 nm fabrication process by the second half of 2013.
Apple A5 versions
Three versions of the A5 chip exist: S5L8940 (containing a 45 nm CPU), S5L8942 (containing a 32 nm CPU), and S5L8947 (containing a single-core 32 nm CPU). Apple also designed a separate high-performance variant of the A5 called the
Apple A5X
The Apple A5X is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. Apple used it only in the third-generation iPad. The A5X is a high-performance variant of the Apple A5. Apple claimed during their media event on ...
, which features a wider memory subsystem and two additional GPU cores. The A5X was used only in the
third-generation iPad.
Apple A5 (S5L8940)
The S5L8940 version of the A5 was used in the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S. The CPU was manufactured on a 45 nm fabrication process. The die of this version takes up 122.2 mm
2 of area.
It uses the PoP method of installation to support RAM. The top package contains two 256 MB
LPDDR2
Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR), also known as LPDDR SDRAM, is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory that consumes less power and is targeted for mobile computers and devices such as mobile phones. Older variants are also known a ...
chips, providing a total of 512 MB
of RAM.
Apple A5R2 (S5L8942)
The S5L8942 version of the A5 was used in the third-generation Apple TV (one CPU core is disabled),
the iPad 2 (iPad2,4 revision), the fifth-generation iPod Touch, and the first-generation iPad Mini. The CPU was manufactured on a 32 nm fabrication process. The die of this version takes up 69.6 mm
2 of area
—nearly 41% smaller than the die of the S5L8940 version. Like the S5L8940 version, it uses the PoP method of installation to support RAM. The top package contains two 256 MB LPDDR2 chips, providing a total of 512 MB of RAM.
Apple A5R3 (S5L8947)
The S5L8947 version of the A5 was used only in the third-generation Rev A Apple TV. Unlike the previous two A5 versions, this version contains only one CPU core.
Also unlike the previous two A5 versions, this version does not use the PoP method of installation to support RAM—RAM is found externally from the A5 chip.
The die of this version takes up 37.8mm
2 of area,
using a new design made specifically for the third-generation Rev A Apple TV.
Products featuring the Apple A5
*
iPad 2
The iPad 2 is a tablet designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to the first iPad, as the second model in the iPad line, it gained a faster dual core A5 processor, a lighter build structure, and was the first iPad to feature ...
*
iPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S (originally styled as iPhone 4 S, retroactively stylized with a lowercase 's' as iPhone 4s as of September 2013) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iOS devices, fifth generation o ...
*
Apple TV (3rd generation)
*
iPod Touch (5th generation)
*
iPad Mini (1st generation)
*
Apple TV (3rd generation Rev A)
Gallery
''These images are illustrations and approximate to scale.''
See also
*
Apple A5X
The Apple A5X is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. Apple used it only in the third-generation iPad. The A5X is a high-performance variant of the Apple A5. Apple claimed during their media event on ...
*
Apple silicon
Apple silicon is a series of system on a chip (SoC) and system in a package (SiP) processors designed by Apple Inc., mainly using the ARM architecture. It is the basis of most new Mac computers as well as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, a ...
, the range of ARM-based SoCs designed by Apple.
*
PWRficient
PWRficient is a microprocessor series by P.A. Semi where the PA6T-1682M was the only one that became an actual product.
PWRficient processors comply with the 64-bit Power ISA, and are designed for high performance and extreme power efficiency. T ...
, a series of microprocessors designed by
P.A. Semi
P. A. Semi (originally Palo Alto Semiconductor) was an American fabless semiconductor company founded in Santa Clara, California in 2003 by Daniel W. Dobberpuhl, who was previously the lead designer for the DEC Alpha 21064 and StrongARM process ...
. Apple acquired P.A. Semi to form an in-house custom chip design department.
References
External links
*
{{Application ARM-based chips
Products introduced in 2011
Products and services discontinued in 2016
Computer-related introductions in 2011
A5
ARM architecture
32-bit microprocessors
Apple silicon