Apple silicon is a series of
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) and
system in a package
A system in a package (SiP) or system-in-package is a number of integrated circuits enclosed in one or more chip carrier packages that may be stacked using package on package. The SiP performs all or most of the functions of an electronic syste ...
(SiP) processors 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 b ...
, mainly using the
ARM architecture
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
. It is the basis of most new
Mac computers as well as
iPhone,
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
,
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
,
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
, and
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
, and of products such as
AirPods
AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc. They were first announced on September 7, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7. Within two years, they became Apple's most popular accessory. The most recent model, AirPods (3rd generation ...
,
HomePod
The HomePod is a smart speaker developed by Apple Inc. The HomePod was designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service.
The HomePod was announced on June 5, 2017, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Its launch was later del ...
,
HomePod Mini, and
AirTag
AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects (e.g. keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices, vehicles). To locate lost items, AirTags use Apple's crowds ...
.
Apple announced its plan to
switch Mac computers from Intel processors to Apple silicon at
WWDC 2020
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is usually held at Apple Park in California. The event is usually used to showcase new software and technologies in th ...
on June 22, 2020.
The first Macs built with the
Apple M1
Apple M1 is a series of ARM architecture, ARM-based system-on-a-chip, systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) Apple silicon, designed by Apple Inc. as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac (computer), Mac desktop compu ...
processor were unveiled on November 10, 2020. In 2022, the newest Mac models were built with Apple silicon; only older models of the
Mac Mini
Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. , it is positioned between the consumer all-in-one iMac (Intel-based), iMac and the profes ...
and the
Mac Pro
Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals that are designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of f ...
still use
Intel Core
Intel Core is a line of streamlined midrange consumer, workstation and enthusiast computer central processing units (CPUs) marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors displaced the existing mid- to high-end Pentium processors at the time ...
and
Xeon
Xeon ( ) is a brand of x86 microprocessors designed, manufactured, and marketed by Intel, targeted at the non-consumer workstation, server, and embedded system markets. It was introduced in June 1998. Xeon processors are based on the same arc ...
processors respectively.
Apple fully controls the integration of Apple silicon chips with the company's hardware and software products.
Johny Srouji
Johny Srouji (Arabic: جوني سروجي; Hebrew: ג'וני סרוג'י; born 1964) is an Israeli executive, currently Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies.
Early life and education
Srouji was born in the Abbas neighborhood ...
is in charge of Apple's silicon design. Manufacturing of the chips is outsourced to semiconductor contract manufacturers such as
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 ...
and
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
.
A series
The "A" series is a family of
SoCs
SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.
Genes
* CISH
* SOCS1
* SOCS2
* SOCS3
* SOCS4
* SOCS5
* SOCS6
* SOCS7
Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7 is a pro ...
used in the
iPhone, certain
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
models, and the
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
. "A" series chips were also used in the discontinued
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
line and the original
HomePod
The HomePod is a smart speaker developed by Apple Inc. The HomePod was designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service.
The HomePod was announced on June 5, 2017, at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Its launch was later del ...
. They integrate one or more
ARM-based processing cores (
CPU), a graphics processing unit (
GPU
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, mobil ...
),
cache memory
In computing, a cache ( ) is a hardware or software component that stores data so that future requests for that data can be served faster; the data stored in a cache might be the result of an earlier computation or a copy of data stored elsewher ...
and other electronics necessary to provide mobile computing functions within a single physical package.
Apple A4
The Apple A4 is a PoP SoC 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 SoC Apple designed in-house. It combines an
ARM
In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between the ...
Cortex-A8
The ARM Cortex-A8 is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture.
Compared to the ARM11, the Cortex-A8 is a dual-issue superscalar design, achieving roughly twice the instructions per cycle. The Cort ...
CPU also used in Samsung's S5PC110A01 SoC and a
PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor
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, mobil ...
(GPU),
all built on Samsung's 45-nanometer silicon chip fabrication process.
The design emphasizes power efficiency. The A4 commercially debuted in 2010, in Apple's iPad
tablet
Tablet may refer to:
Medicine
* Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill"
Computing
* Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...
,
and was later used in the
iPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the 4S. Following a number of notable leaks, the iPhone 4 was first unvei ...
smartphone,
the
fourth-generation iPod Touch, and the 2nd-generation
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
.
The Cortex-A8 core used in the A4, dubbed "
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
", is thought to use performance improvements developed by Samsung in collaboration with chip designer
Intrinsity
Intrinsity was a privately held Austin, Texas based fabless semiconductor company; it was founded in 1997 as ''EVSX'' on the remnants of Exponential Technology and changed its name to Intrinsity in 2000. It had around 100 employees and supplied too ...
, which was subsequently acquired by Apple
It can run at far higher clock rates than other Cortex-A8 designs yet remains fully compatible with the design provided by ARM.
The A4 runs at different speeds in different products: 1 GHz in the first iPads, 800 MHz in the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod Touch, and an undisclosed speed in the 2nd-generation Apple TV.
The A4's SGX535 GPU could theoretically push 35 million polygons per second and 500 million pixels per second, although real-world performance may be considerably less. Other performance improvements include additional
L2 cache
A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory. A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, which ...
.
The A4 processor package does not contain
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
, but supports
PoP installation. The 1st-generation iPad,
fourth-generation iPod Touch, and the 2nd-generation Apple TV have an A4 mounted with two low-power 128 MB
DDR SDRAM
Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR SDRAM) is a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) class of memory integrated circuits used in computers. DDR SDRAM, also retroactively called DDR1 ...
chips
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...
(totaling 256 MB), while the iPhone 4 has two 256 MB packages for a total of 512 MB. The RAM is connected to the processor using ARM's
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
-wide
AMBA 3 AXI bus. To give the iPad high graphics bandwidth, the width of the RAM data bus is double that used in previous ARM11- and ARM9-based Apple devices.
Apple A5
The Apple A5 is an SoC 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 ...
that replaced the
A4. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's
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 ...
tablet
Tablet may refer to:
Medicine
* Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill"
Computing
* Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...
in March 2011, followed by its release in 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 ...
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
later that year. Compared to the A4, the A5
CPU "can do twice the work" and the
GPU
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, mobil ...
has "up to nine times the graphics performance", according to Apple.
The A5 contains a dual-core
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:
* ...
CPU
with ARM's advanced
SIMD
Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) is a type of parallel processing in Flynn's taxonomy. SIMD can be internal (part of the hardware design) and it can be directly accessible through an instruction set architecture (ISA), but it should ...
extension, marketed as
NEON
Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...
, and a dual core
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
SGX543MP2 GPU. This GPU can push between 70 and 80 million polygons/second and has a pixel fill rate of 2 billion pixels/second. The iPad 2's technical specifications page says the A5 is clocked at 1 GHz, though it can adjust its frequency to save battery life.
The clock speed of the unit used in the iPhone 4S is 800 MHz. Like the A4, the A5 process size is 45 nm.
An updated
32 nm
The 32 nm node is the step following the 45 nm process in CMOS (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication. "32-nanometre" refers to the average half-pitch (i.e., half the distance between identical features) of a memory cell (computing), memory cel ...
version of the A5 processor was used in the 3rd-generation Apple TV, the
fifth-generation iPod Touch, the iPad Mini, and the new version of iPad 2 (version iPad2,4).
The chip in the Apple TV has one core locked. Markings on the square package indicate that it is named ''APL2498'', and in software, the chip is called ''S5L8942''. The
32 nm
The 32 nm node is the step following the 45 nm process in CMOS ( MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication. "32- nanometre" refers to the average half-pitch (i.e., half the distance between identical features) of a memory cell at this technology ...
variant of the A5 provides around 15% better battery life during web browsing, 30% better when playing 3D games and about 20% better battery life during video playback.
In March 2013, Apple released an updated version of the 3rd-generation Apple TV (Rev A, model A1469) containing a smaller, single-core version of the A5 processor. Unlike the other A5 variants, this version of the A5 is not a PoP, having no stacked RAM. The chip is very small, just 6.1×6.2 mm, but as the decrease in size is not due to a decrease in feature size (it is still on a 32 nm fabrication process), this indicates that this A5 revision is of a new design. Markings tell that it is named ''APL7498'', and in software, the chip is called ''S5L8947''.
Apple A5X
The Apple A5X is an SoC announced on March 7, 2012, at the launch of the
third-generation iPad. It is a high-performance variant of the
Apple A5
The Apple A5 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the iPad 2. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011 that the ARM Cortex-A9 central ...
; Apple claims it has twice the graphics performance of the A5. It was superseded in the
fourth-generation iPad by the
Apple A6X
The Apple A6X is a 32-bit system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., introduced at the launch of the 4th generation iPad on October 23, 2012. It is a high-performance variant of the Apple A6 and the last 32-bit chip Apple used on an iOS dev ...
processor.
The A5X has a quad-core graphics unit (PowerVR SGX543MP4) instead of the previous dual-core as well as a quad-channel memory controller that provides a memory bandwidth of 12.8 GB/s, roughly three times more than in the A5. The added graphics cores and extra memory channels add up to a very large die size of 165 mm²,
for example twice the size of
Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
Tegra 3
Tegra is a system on a chip (SoC) series developed by Nvidia for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile Internet devices. The Tegra integrates an ARM architecture central processing unit (CPU), graphics proc ...
.
This is mainly due to the large PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU. The clock frequency of the dual ARM Cortex-A9 cores have been shown to operate at the same 1 GHz frequency as in A5. The RAM in A5X is separate from the main CPU package.
Apple A6
The Apple A6 is a PoP SoC introduced on September 12, 2012, at the launch of the
iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 6th generation iPhone, succeeding both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, and preceding both the iPhone 5S and 5C. It was formally unveiled as part of a press e ...
, then a year later was inherited by its minor successor the
iPhone 5C
The iPhone 5C (marketed as iPhone 5c) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the sixth generation of the iPhone. The device was unveiled on September 10, 2013, and released on September 20, 2013, alon ...
. Apple states that it is up to twice as fast and has up to twice the graphics power compared to its predecessor the
Apple A5
The Apple A5 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the iPad 2. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011 that the ARM Cortex-A9 central ...
.
It is 22% smaller and draws less power than the 45 nm A5.
The A6 is said to use a 1.3 GHz
custom
Apple-designed
ARMv7
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
based
dual-core CPU, called Swift,
rather than a licensed CPU from ARM like in previous designs, and an integrated 266 MHz triple-core
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
SGX 543MP3
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). The Swift core in the A6 uses a new tweaked instruction set, ARMv7s, featuring some elements of the
ARM Cortex-A15
The ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture. It is a multicore processor with out-of-order superscalar pipeline running at up to 2.5 GHz.
Overview
ARM has claimed ...
such as support for the
Advanced SIMD v2, and
VFPv4.
The A6 is manufactured by Samsung on a
high-κ metal gate
A metal gate, in the context of a lateral metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) stack, is the gate electrode separated by an oxide from the transistor's channel – the gate material is made from a metal. In most MOS transistors since about the mid ...
(HKMG) 32 nm process.
Apple A6X
Apple A6X is an SoC introduced at the launch of the
fourth-generation iPad on October 23, 2012. It is a high-performance variant of the
Apple A6
The Apple A6 is a 32-bit package on package (PoP) system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. that was introduced on September 12, 2012 at the launch of the iPhone 5. Apple states that it is up to twice as fast and has up to twice the graphics ...
. Apple claims the A6X has twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, 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 ...
.
Like the A6, this SoC continues to use the dual-core Swift CPU, but it has a new quad core GPU, quad channel memory and slightly higher 1.4 GHz CPU clock rate.
It uses an integrated quad-core
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
SGX 554MP4
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) running at 300 MHz and a quad-channel
memory subsystem.
Compared to the A6 the A6X is 30% larger, but it continues to be manufactured by Samsung on a
high-κ metal gate
A metal gate, in the context of a lateral metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) stack, is the gate electrode separated by an oxide from the transistor's channel – the gate material is made from a metal. In most MOS transistors since about the mid ...
(HKMG) 32 nm process.
Apple A7
The Apple A7 is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
PoP SoC whose first appearance was in the
iPhone 5S
The iPhone 5S (stylized and marketed as iPhone 5s) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the seventh generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 5, and unveiled in September 2013, alongside the iPhone 5C.
Th ...
, which was introduced on September 10, 2013. The chip would also be used in the
iPad Air
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
,
iPad Mini 2
The iPad Mini 2 (formerly marketed as the iPad mini with Retina display, officially iPad mini 2 with Retina display) is a tablet computer produced and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a nearly identical design to its predecessor the first-generat ...
and
iPad Mini 3
The iPad Mini 3 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 3) is the third-generation iPad Mini tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced alongside the iPad Air 2 on October 16, 2014 and released on October 22. ...
. Apple states that it is up to twice as fast and has up to twice the graphics power compared to its predecessor the Apple A6.
The Apple A7 chip is the first 64-bit chip to be used in a smartphone and later a tablet computer.
The A7 features an Apple-designed 1.3
–1.4
GHz 64-bit
ARMv8
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
-A
dual-core CPU,
called Cyclone,
and an integrated
PowerVR G6430 GPU in a four cluster configuration.
The ARMv8-A architecture doubles the number of
registers of the A7 compared to the A6.
It now has 31 general-purpose registers that are each
64-bits wide and 32 floating-point/
NEON
Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...
registers that are each 128-bits wide.
The A7 is manufactured by Samsung on a
high-κ metal gate
A metal gate, in the context of a lateral metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) stack, is the gate electrode separated by an oxide from the transistor's channel – the gate material is made from a metal. In most MOS transistors since about the mid ...
(HKMG)
28 nm process
and the chip includes over 1 billion
transistors
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
on a die 102 mm
2 in size.
Apple A8
The Apple A8 is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
PoP SoC manufactured by TSMC. Its first appearance was in the
iPhone 6
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are smartphones that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the eighth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 5, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S, and were announced on September 9, 2014, and relea ...
and
iPhone 6 Plus
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are smartphones that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the List of iOS devices, eighth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 5, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S, and were announced on September ...
, which were introduced on September 9, 2014.
A year later it would drive the
iPad Mini 4
The iPad Mini 4 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 4) is the fourth-generation iPad Mini tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced along with the iPad Pro on September 9, 2015, and released the same day. T ...
. Apple states that it has 25% more CPU performance and 50% more graphics performance while drawing only 50% of the power compared to its predecessor, the
Apple A7
The Apple A7 is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 5S, which was announced on September 10, 2013, and the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, which were both announced on October 22, 2013. Apple states ...
.
On February 9, 2018, Apple released the HomePod, which is powered by an Apple A8 with 1 GB of RAM.
The A8 features an Apple-designed 1.4
GHz 64-bit
ARMv8
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
-A
dual-core CPU, and an integrated custom
PowerVR GX6450 GPU in a four cluster configuration.
The GPU features custom shader cores and compiler.
The A8 is manufactured on a 20 nm process
by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
,
which replaced
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 ...
as the manufacturer of Apple's mobile device processors. It contains 2 billion transistors. Despite that being double the number of transistors compared to the A7, its physical size has been reduced by 13% to 89 mm
2 (consistent with a shrink only, not known to be a new microarchitecture).
Apple A8X
The Apple A8X is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
SoC introduced at the launch of the
iPad Air 2
The iPad Air 2 is the second-generation iPad Air tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 16, 2014, alongside the iPad Mini 3, both of which were released on October 22, 2014. The iPad Air 2 i ...
on October 16, 2014.
It is a high performance variant of the
Apple A8
The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2014. Apple states that it has 25% more CPU performance and 50% more gr ...
. Apple states that it has 40% more CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of its predecessor, the
Apple A7
The Apple A7 is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 5S, which was announced on September 10, 2013, and the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, which were both announced on October 22, 2013. Apple states ...
.
Unlike the A8, this SoC uses a
triple-core CPU, a new
octa-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 ...
GPU
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, mobil ...
,
dual channel memory and slightly higher 1.5 GHz CPU clock rate.
It uses an integrated custom octa-core
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
GXA6850
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) running at 450 MHz and a dual-channel
memory subsystem.
It is manufactured by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
on their 20 nm fabrication process, and consists of 3 billion
transistors
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
.
Apple A9
The Apple A9 is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2015.
Apple states that it has 70% more CPU performance and 90% more graphics performance compared to its predecessor, the
Apple A8
The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2014. Apple states that it has 25% more CPU performance and 50% more gr ...
.
It is dual sourced, a first for an Apple SoC; it is manufactured by Samsung on their 14 nm FinFET LPE process and by TSMC on their 16 nm FinFET process. It was subsequently included in the
first-generation iPhone SE, and the
iPad (5th generation)
The iPad 9.7-inch (officially iPad (5th generation)) is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. After its announcement on March 21, 2017, conflicting naming conventions spawned a number of different names, including ...
. The Apple A9 was the last CPU that Apple manufactured through a contract with Samsung, as all A-series chips after are manufactured by TSMC.
Apple A9X
The Apple A9X is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
SoC that was announced on September 9, 2015, and released on November 11, 2015, and first appeared in the
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
.
It offers 80% more CPU performance and two times the GPU performance of its predecessor, the
Apple A8X
The Apple A8X is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by TSMC. It first appeared in the iPad Air 2 and only is used in the iPad Air 2, which was announced on October 16, 2014. It is a variant of the ...
. It is manufactured by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
using a
16 nm
Sixteen or 16 may refer to:
*16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17
*one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
Films
* ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film
* Sixteen (1943 film), ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 194 ...
FinFET
A fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a multigate device, a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) built on a substrate where the gate is placed on two, three, or four sides of the channel or wrapped around the channel, f ...
process.
Apple A10 Fusion
The Apple A10 Fusion is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are smartphones that were designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Fran ...
and 7 Plus, which were introduced on September 7, 2016.
The A10 is also featured in the
sixth-generation iPad,
seventh-generation iPad and
seventh-generation iPod Touch. It has a new
ARM big.LITTLE
ARM big.LITTLE is a heterogeneous computing architecture developed by ARM Holdings, coupling relatively battery-saving and slower processor cores (''LITTLE'') with relatively more powerful and power-hungry ones (''big''). Typically, only one "s ...
quad core design with two high performance cores, and two smaller highly efficient cores. It is 40% faster than the A9, with 50% faster graphics. It is manufactured by TSMC on their 16 nm FinFET process.
Apple A10X Fusion
The Apple A10X Fusion is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the 10.5"
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
and the second generation of the 12.9" iPad Pro, which were both announced on June 5, 2017.
It is a variant of the
A10 and Apple claims that it has 30 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster GPU performance than its predecessor, the
A9X.
On September 12, 2017, Apple announced that the
Apple TV 4K
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
would be powered by an A10X chip. It is made by TSMC on their 10 nm FinFET process.
Apple A11 Bionic
The Apple A11 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC
that first appeared in the
iPhone 8
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They along with the iPhone X make up the 11th generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and ...
, iPhone 8 Plus, and
iPhone X
The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
, which were introduced on September 12, 2017.
It has two high-performance cores, which are 25% faster than the
A10 Fusion, four high-efficiency cores, which are 70% faster than the energy-efficient cores in the A10, and for the first time an Apple-designed three-core GPU with 30% faster graphics performance than the A10.
It is also the first A-series chip to feature Apple's "Neural Engine," which enhances artificial intelligence and machine learning processes.
Apple A12 Bionic
The Apple A12 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone XS,
XS Max and
XR, which were introduced on September 12, 2018. It is also used in the
third-generation iPad Air,
fifth-generation iPad Mini, and the
eighth-generation iPad. It has two high-performance cores, which are 15% faster than the A11 Bionic, and four high-efficiency cores, which have 50% lower power usage than the energy-efficient cores in the A11 Bionic.
The A12 is manufactured by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
using a
7 nm
In semiconductor manufacturing, the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors defines the 7 nm process as the MOSFET technology node following the 10 nm node. It is based on FinFET (fin field-effect transistor) technology, ...
FinFET
A fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a multigate device, a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) built on a substrate where the gate is placed on two, three, or four sides of the channel or wrapped around the channel, f ...
process, the first to ship in a smartphone.
It is also used in the 6th generation
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
.
Apple A12X Bionic
The Apple A12X Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the 11.0"
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
and the third generation of the 12.9" iPad Pro, which were both announced on October 30, 2018. It offers 35% faster single-core and 90% faster multi-core CPU performance than its predecessor, the A10X. It has four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. The A12X is manufactured by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
using a
7 nm
In semiconductor manufacturing, the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors defines the 7 nm process as the MOSFET technology node following the 10 nm node. It is based on FinFET (fin field-effect transistor) technology, ...
FinFET
A fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a multigate device, a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) built on a substrate where the gate is placed on two, three, or four sides of the channel or wrapped around the channel, f ...
process.
Apple A12Z Bionic
The Apple A12Z Bionic is an updated version of the A12X Bionic, first appearing in the fourth generation
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
, which was announced on March 18, 2020. It adds an additional GPU core, compared to the A12X, for improved graphics performance. The A12Z is also used in the
Developer Transition Kit
The Developer Transition Kit is the name of two prototype Mac computers made available to software developers by Apple Inc. The first Developer Transition Kit was made available in 2005 prior to the Mac transition to Intel processors to aid in t ...
prototype computer that helps developers prepare their software for Macs based on Apple silicon.
Apple A13 Bionic
The Apple A13 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone 11
The iPhone 11 is a smartphone designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the 13th generation of iPhone, succeeding the iPhone XR, and was unveiled on September 10, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 Pro at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple ...
,
11 Pro, and
11 Pro Max, which were introduced on September 10, 2019. It is also featured in the
second-generation iPhone SE (released April 15, 2020), the
9th generation iPad (announced September 14, 2021) and in the
Studio Display (announced March 8, 2022)
The entire A13 SoC features a total of 18 cores – a six-core CPU, four-core GPU, and an eight-core Neural Engine processor, which is dedicated to handling on-board machine learning processes; four of the six cores on the CPU are low-powered cores that are dedicated to handling less CPU-intensive operations, such as voice calls, browsing the Web, and sending messages, while two higher-performance cores are used only for more CPU-intensive processes, such as recording 4K video or playing a video game.
Apple A14 Bionic
The Apple A14 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
fourth-generation iPad Air and
iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini (stylized and marketed as iPhone 12 mini) are a range of smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the fourteenth-generation, "affordable flagship" iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 11. ...
, released on October 23, 2020. It is the first commercially available
5 nm chipset and it contains 11.8 billion transistors and a 16-core AI processor. It includes Samsung
LPDDR4X
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 as ...
DRAM
Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...
, a 6-core CPU, and 4-Core GPU with real time machine learning capabilities. It was later used in the
tenth-generation iPad, released on October 26, 2022.
Apple A15 Bionic
The Apple A15 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone 13
The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini (stylized as iPhone 13 mini) are smartphones designed, developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. They are the fifteenth generation of iPhones (succeeding the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini respectively). They ...
, unveiled on September 14, 2021. The A15 is built on a 5-nanometer manufacturing process with 15 billion transistors. It has 2 high-performance processing cores, 4 high-efficiency cores, a new 5-core graphics for iPhone 13 Pro series (4-core for iPhone 13 and 13 mini) processing unit, and a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second. It is also used in the
iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus (also stylized as iPhone 14+) are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the sixteenth generation of iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, and was announced durin ...
, iPhone 14 Plus and iPad Mini 6.
Apple A16 Bionic
The Apple A16 Bionic is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit Integer (computer science), integers, memory addresses, or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing unit, CPUs and arithmetic logic unit, ALUs are those ...
ARM-based SoC that first appeared in the
iPhone 14 Pro
The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the sixteenth-generation flagship iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The devices were unveiled alongs ...
, unveiled on September 7, 2022. The A16 has 16 billion transistors and is built on
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
's
N4 fabrication process, being touted by Apple as the first 4 nm processor in a smartphone.
However, N4 is an enhanced version of N5 technology, a
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
third-generation
5 nm manufacturing process
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...
.
The chip has 2 high-performance processing cores, 4 high-efficiency cores and 5-core graphics for iPhone 14 Pro series. Memory is upgraded to LPDDR5 for 50% higher bandwidth and a 7% faster 16-core Neural Engine capable of 17 trillion operations per second.
List of processors
H series
The Apple "H" series is a family of
SoCs
SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.
Genes
* CISH
* SOCS1
* SOCS2
* SOCS3
* SOCS4
* SOCS5
* SOCS6
* SOCS7
Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7 is a pro ...
with low-power audio processing and wireless connectivity for use in headphones.
Apple H1
The Apple H1 chip was first used in the 2019 version of AirPods, and was later used in the Powerbeats Pro, the Beats Solo Pro, Beat Fit Pro, the
AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro are wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphones designed by Apple, initially released on October 30, 2019. They are Apple's mid-range wireless headphones, sold alongside the base-level AirPods and highest-end AirPods Max.
The first-genera ...
, the 2020 Powerbeats,
AirPods Max
AirPods Max are wireless Bluetooth over-ear headphones designed by Apple, and released on December 15, 2020. They are Apple’s highest-end option in the AirPods lineup, sold alongside the base model AirPods and mid-range AirPods Pro.
The mai ...
, and the AirPods (3rd generation). Specifically designed for headphones, it has Bluetooth 5.0, supports hands-free "Hey Siri" commands, and offers 30 percent lower
latency than the W1 chip used in earlier AirPods.
Apple H2
The Apple H2 chip was first used in the 2022 version of AirPods Pro. It has Bluetooth 5.3, and implements 48 kHz
noise reduction
Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal. Noise reduction techniques exist for audio and images. Noise reduction algorithms may distort the signal to some degree. Noise rejection is the ability of a circuit to isolate an und ...
in hardware.
List of processors
M series
The Apple "M" series is a family of
systems on a chip (SoC) used in
Mac computers
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
from November 2020 or later,
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
tablets from April 2021 or later, and
iPad Air
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
tablets from March 2022 or later. The "M" designation was previously used for
Apple motion coprocessors
The Apple M-series coprocessors are motion coprocessors used by Apple Inc. in their mobile devices. First released in 2013, their function is to collect sensor data from integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses and offload the collect ...
.
Apple M1
Apple M1
The M1, Apple's first system on a chip designed for use in Macs, is manufactured using
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
's 5 nm process. Announced on November 10, 2020, it is used in the
MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is a line of ultrabook computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It consists of a full-size keyboard, a machined aluminum case, and, in the more modern versions, a thin light structure. The Air was originally positioned ...
(M1, 2020),
Mac mini (M1, 2020),
MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020),
iMac
iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms.
In it ...
(24-inch, M1, 2021),
iPad Pro (5th generation)
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad Pro ...
and
iPad Air (5th generation)
The iPad Air (5th generation), colloquially known as the iPad Air 5, is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced by Apple on March 8, 2022. Pre-orders began on March 11, 2022, and shipping began on Marc ...
. It comes with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, for a total of 8 CPU cores. It comes with up to 8 GPU cores, with the entry level MacBook Air having only 7 GPU cores. The M1 has 16 billion transistors.
Apple M1 Pro
The M1 Pro is a more powerful version of the M1, with six to eight performance cores, two efficiency cores, 14 to 16 GPU cores, 16 Neural Engine cores, up to 32 GB unified RAM with up to 200 GB/s memory bandwidth, and more than double the transistors. It was announced on October 18, 2021, and is used in the 14- and 16-inch
MacBook Pro. Apple said the CPU performance is about 70% faster than the M1, and that its GPU performance is about double. Apple claims the M1 Pro can deliver up to 20 streams of 4K or 7 streams of 8K ProRes video playback (up from 6 offered by Afterburner card for
2019 Mac Pro).
Apple M1 Max
The M1 Max is a larger version of the M1 Pro chip, with eight performance cores, two efficiency cores, 24 to 32 GPU cores, 16 Neural Engine cores, up to 64 GB unified RAM with up to 400 GB/s memory bandwidth, and more than double the number of transistors. It was announced on October 18, 2021, and is used in the 14- and 16-inch
MacBook Pro, as well as the
Mac Studio
Mac Studio is a small-form-factor workstation designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the Mac lineup, sitting above the consumer-range Mac Mini and iMac, and positioned below the Mac Pro. It is con ...
. Apple says it has 57 billion transistors. Apple claims the M1 Max can deliver up to 30 streams of 4K (up from 23 offered by Afterburner card for 2019 Mac Pro) or 7 streams of 8K ProRes video playback.
Apple M1 Ultra
The M1 Ultra consists of two M1 Max dies connected together by a silicon interposer through Apple's UltraFusion technology. It has 114 billion transistors, 16 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores, 48 to 64 GPU cores and 32 Neural Engine cores; it can be configured with up to 128 GB unified RAM of 800 GB/s memory bandwidth. It was announced on March 8, 2022, as an optional upgrade for the
Mac Studio
Mac Studio is a small-form-factor workstation designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. It is one of four desktop computers in the Mac lineup, sitting above the consumer-range Mac Mini and iMac, and positioned below the Mac Pro. It is con ...
. Apple claims the M1 Ultra can deliver up to 18 streams of 8K ProRes video playback.
Apple M2
Apple announced the M2 SoC on June 6, 2022, at
WWDC
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is usually held at Apple Park in California. The event is usually used to showcase new software and technologies in th ...
, along with the new MacBook Air and the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and later the
iPad Pro (6th generation)
The sixth-generation iPad Pro, colloquially known as the M2 iPad Pro, is a line of iPad tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 18, 2022 and was released on October 26, 2022. It is available with the ...
. It is the successor to the Apple M1. The M2 is made with TSMC's "Enhanced 5-nanometer technology" N5P process and contains 20 billion transistors, a 25% increase from the previous generation M1. The M2 can be configured with up to 24 gigabytes of RAM and 2 terabytes of storage. It has 8 CPU cores (4 performance and 4 efficiency) and up to 10 GPU cores. The M2 also increases the memory bandwidth to . Apple claims CPU improvements up to 18% and GPU improvements up to 35% compared to the previous M1.
List of processors
S series
The Apple "S" series is a family of
systems in a package (SiP) used in the
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
. It uses a customized
application processor
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
that together with
memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
,
storage and support processors for wireless connectivity, sensors, and
I/O form a complete computer in a single package. They are designed by Apple and manufactured by contract manufacturers such as
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 ...
.
Apple S1
The Apple S1 is an integrated computer. It includes memory, storage and support circuits like
wireless modem
A mobile broadband modem, also known as wireless modem or cellular modem, is a type of modem that allows a personal computer or a router to receive wireless Internet access via a mobile broadband connection instead of using telephone or cable tel ...
s and I/O controllers in a sealed integrated package. It was announced on September 9, 2014, as part of the "Wish we could say more" event. It was used in the first-generation
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
.
Apple S1P
Used in
Apple Watch Series 1
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and s ...
. It has a dual-core processor identical to the S2, with the exception of the built-in
GPS receiver
A satellite navigation device (satnav device) is a user equipment that uses one or more of several global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to calculate the device's geographical position and provide navigational advice.
Depending on the s ...
. It contains the same dual-core CPU with the same new
GPU
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, mobil ...
capabilities as the S2, making it about 50% faster than the S1.
Apple S2
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 2
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and s ...
. It has a dual-core processor and a built-in GPS receiver. The S2's two cores deliver 50% higher performance and the GPU delivers twice as much as the predecessor,
and is similar in performance to the Apple S1P.
Apple S3
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
. It has a dual-core processor that is 70% faster than the Apple S2 and a built-in GPS receiver.
There is also an option for a cellular modem and an internal
eSIM module.
It also includes the W2 chip.
The S3 also contains a
barometric
A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...
altimeter
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
, the
W2 wireless connectivity processor, and in some models
UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Inte ...
(3G) and
LTE (4G) cellular modems served by a built-in
eSIM.
Apple S4
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
. It has a custom 64-bit dual-core processor based on the A12 with up to 2× faster performance. It also contains the W3 wireless chip, which supports
Bluetooth 5
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limit ...
. The S4 introduced 64-bit
ARMv8
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
cores to the Apple Watch. The chip contains two Tempest cores, which are the energy-efficient cores found in the
A12. Despite the small size, Tempest still uses a 3-wide decode
out-of-order superscalar
A superscalar processor is a CPU that implements a form of parallelism called instruction-level parallelism within a single processor. In contrast to a scalar processor, which can execute at most one single instruction per clock cycle, a sup ...
design, which make them much more powerful than previous in-order cores.
The S4 contains a Neural Engine that is able to run
Core ML
iOS 11 is the iOS version history, eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Worldwide Developers C ...
. Third-party apps can use it starting from watchOS 6. The SiP also includes new accelerometer and gyroscope functionality that has twice the dynamic range in measurable values of its predecessor, as well as being able to sample data at 8 times the speed. It also contains a new custom
GPU
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, mobil ...
, which can use the
Metal API.
Apple S5
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 5
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was r ...
,
Watch SE, and
HomePod mini.
It adds a built-in
magnetometer
A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...
to the custom 64-bit dual-core processor and GPU of the S4.
Apple S6
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 6
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
. It has a custom 64-bit dual-core processor that runs up to 20 percent faster than the S5.
The dual cores in the S6 are based on the
A13's energy-efficient "
little
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
" Thunder cores at 1.8 GHz. Like the S4 and S5, it also contains the W3 wireless chip.
The S6 adds the new
U1 ultra wideband chip, an always-on
altimeter
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...
, and 5 GHz
WiFi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
.
Apple S7
Used in the
Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was r ...
. The S7 has the same T8301 identifier and quoted performance as the S6.
Apple S8
Used in the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Watch Series 8, and Watch Ultra. The S8 adds a new three-axis gyroscope and high g-force accelerometer. It has the same T8301 identifier and quoted performance as the S6 and S7.
List of processors
T series
The T series chip operates as a secure enclave on Intel-based MacBook and iMac computers released from 2016 onwards. The chip processes and encrypts
biometric
Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
information (
Touch ID
Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature designed and released by Apple Inc. that allows users to unlock devices, make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store), and aut ...
) and acts as a gatekeeper to the microphone and FaceTime HD camera, protecting them from hacking. The chip runs
bridgeOS
bridgeOS is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. for use exclusively with its hardware. bridgeOS runs on the T series Apple silicon processors and operates the OLED touchscreen strip called the " Touch Bar" as well as ...
, a purported variant of
watchOS
watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple Inc. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only dev ...
.
The functions of the T series processor were built into the M series CPUs, thus ending the need for the T series.
Apple T1
The Apple T1 chip is an
ARMv7
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures for computer processors, configured ...
SoC (derived from the processor in the Apple Watch's
S2) that drives the
System Management Controller The System Management Controller (SMC) is a subsystem of Intel and Apple processor-based Macintosh computers. It is similar in function to the older SMU, PMU, or UAE of non-Intel Macintosh computers.
Overview
The SMC has roles in controlling ther ...
(SMC) and
Touch ID
Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature designed and released by Apple Inc. that allows users to unlock devices, make purchases in the various Apple digital media stores (iTunes Store, App Store, and Apple Books Store), and aut ...
sensor of the
2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Apple T2
The Apple T2 security chip is a SoC first released in the
iMac Pro
The iMac Pro is a discontinued all-in-one personal computer and workstation designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Inc. It was released on December 14, 2017. While it was sold, it was one of four desktop computers in the Macintosh lineup, si ...
. It is a 64-bit ARMv8 chip (a variant of the
A10 Fusion, or T8010), and runs
bridgeOS
bridgeOS is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. for use exclusively with its hardware. bridgeOS runs on the T series Apple silicon processors and operates the OLED touchscreen strip called the " Touch Bar" as well as ...
. It provides a secure enclave for encrypted keys, enables users to lock down the computer's boot process, handles system functions like the camera and audio control, and handles on-the-fly encryption and decryption for the
solid-state drive
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is ...
. T2 also delivers "enhanced imaging processing" for the iMac Pro's
FaceTime
FaceTime is a Proprietary software, proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run and later. FaceTime supports any iOS devic ...
HD camera.
List of processors
U series
The Apple "U" series is a family of
systems in a package (SiP) implementing
ultra-wideband
Ultra-wideband (UWB, ultra wideband, ultra-wide band and ultraband) is a radio technology that can use a very low energy level for short-range, high-bandwidth communications over a large portion of the radio spectrum. UWB has traditional applicati ...
(UWB) radio.
Apple U1
The Apple U1 is used in the iPhone 11 series and later (excluding the
second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
generation iPhone SE),
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
Series 6 and newer,
HomePod Mini,
AirTag
AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects (e.g. keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices, vehicles). To locate lost items, AirTags use Apple's crowds ...
trackers and the charging case for
AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro are wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphones designed by Apple, initially released on October 30, 2019. They are Apple's mid-range wireless headphones, sold alongside the base-level AirPods and highest-end AirPods Max.
The first-genera ...
(2nd generation).
List of processors
W series
The Apple "W" series is a family of
RF SoCs
SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins) refers to a family of genes involved in inhibiting the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.
Genes
* CISH
* SOCS1
* SOCS2
* SOCS3
* SOCS4
* SOCS5
* SOCS6
* SOCS7
Suppressor of cytokine signaling 7 is a pro ...
used for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Apple W1
The Apple W1 is a SoC used in the 2016
AirPods
AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc. They were first announced on September 7, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7. Within two years, they became Apple's most popular accessory. The most recent model, AirPods (3rd generation ...
and select
Beats headphones.
It maintains a
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
Class 1 connection with a computer device and decodes the audio stream that is sent to it.
Apple W2
The Apple W2, used in the
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
, is integrated into the
Apple S3 SiP. Apple said the chip makes Wi-Fi 85% faster and allows Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to use half the power of the W1 implementation.
Apple W3
The Apple W3 is used in the
Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
,
Series 5,
Series 6,
SE (1st generation),
Series 7 Series 7 may refer to:
*The seventh season of any of many shows or series; see and
*Series 7 exam, officially the General Securities Representative Exam, the most comprehensive financial securities exam offered by the FINRA
*'' Series 7: The Conte ...
,
Series 8
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
,
SE (2nd generation), and
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...
. It is integrated into the
Apple S4
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 ...
,
S5,
S6,
S7 and
S8 SiPs. It supports Bluetooth 5.0/5.3.
List of processors
M-series coprocessors
The Apple M-series coprocessors are motion coprocessors used by Apple Inc. in their mobile devices. First released in 2013, their function is to collect sensor data from integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses and offload the collecting and processing of sensor data from the main central processing unit (CPU).
List of coprocessors
Miscellaneous devices
This segment is about Apple-designed processors that are not easily sorted into another section.
Early series
Apple first used SoCs in early versions of the
iPhone and
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
. They combine in one package a single
ARM-based processing core (
CPU), a graphics processing unit (
GPU
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, mobil ...
), and other electronics necessary for mobile computing.
The APL0098 (also 8900B or S5L8900) is a
package on package
Package on a package (PoP) is an integrated circuit packaging method to vertically combine discrete logic and memory ball grid array (BGA) packages. Two or more packages are installed atop each other, i.e. stacked, with a standard interface to rout ...
(PoP) system on a chip (SoC) that was introduced on June 29, 2007, at the launch of the
original iPhone
The iPhone (retrospectively referred to unofficially as the iPhone 2G, iPhone 1 or original iPhone) is the first iPhone model and the first smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. After years of rumors and speculation, it was official ...
. It includes a 412 MHz single-core
ARM11
ARM11 is a group of 32-bit RISC ARM processor cores licensed by ARM Holdings. The ARM11 core family consists of ARM1136J(F)-S, ARM1156T2(F)-S, ARM1176JZ(F)-S, and ARM11MPCore. Since ARM11 cores were released from 2002 to 2005, they are no long ...
CPU and a PowerVR MBX Lite GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a
90 nm
The 90 nm process refers to the level of MOSFET (CMOS) fabrication process technology that was commercialized by the 2003–2005 timeframe, by leading semiconductor companies like Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, IBM, Intel, Fujitsu, TSMC, Elpid ...
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
.
The
iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G (also known as iPhone 2) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc.; it is the second generation of iPhone, successor to the original iPhone, and was introduced on June 9, 2008, at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscon ...
and the first-generation iPod Touch also use it.
The APL0278 (also S5L8720) is a PoP SoC introduced on September 9, 2008, at the launch of the
second-generation iPod Touch. It includes a 533 MHz single-core ARM11 CPU and a
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
MBX Lite GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a
65 nm
The 65 nm process is an advanced lithographic node used in volume CMOS ( MOSFET) semiconductor fabrication. Printed linewidths (i.e. transistor gate lengths) can reach as low as 25 nm on a nominally 65 nm process, while the pitc ...
process.
The APL0298 (also S5L8920) is a PoP SoC introduced on June 8, 2009, at the launch of the
iPhone 3GS
The iPhone 3GS (originally styled iPhone 3G S) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the third generation iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009 which took pla ...
. It includes a 600 MHz single-core
Cortex-A8
The ARM Cortex-A8 is a 32-bit processor core licensed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARMv7-A architecture.
Compared to the ARM11, the Cortex-A8 is a dual-issue superscalar design, achieving roughly twice the instructions per cycle. The Cort ...
CPU and a PowerVR SGX535 GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a 65 nm process.
The APL2298 (also S5L8922) is a
45 nm
Per the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, the 45 nm process is a MOSFET technology node referring to the average half-pitch of a memory cell manufactured at around the 2007–2008 time frame.
Matsushita and Intel started mass ...
die shrunk version of the iPhone 3GS SoC
and was introduced on September 9, 2009, at the launch of the
third-generation iPod Touch.
Other
The Samsung S5L8747 is an ARM-based
microcontroller
A microcontroller (MCU for ''microcontroller unit'', often also MC, UC, or μC) is a small computer on a single VLSI integrated circuit (IC) chip. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable i ...
used in Apple's ''Lightning Digital AV Adapter'', a
Lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
-to-
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
adapter. This is a miniature computer with 256 MB RAM, running an
XNU
XNU is the computer operating system (OS) kernel developed at Apple Inc. since December 1996 for use in the Mac OS X (now macOS) operating system and released as free and open-source software as part of the Darwin OS, which in addition to macOS ...
kernel loaded from the connected
iOS device
Apple Inc. has developed four Unix-like operating systems, namely iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Devices using these systems include the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, which are mobile devices; the Apple TV, which is a digital media player; an ...
, then taking a serial signal from the iOS device translating that into a proper HDMI signal.
See also
*
Apple motion coprocessors
The Apple M-series coprocessors are motion coprocessors used by Apple Inc. in their mobile devices. First released in 2013, their function is to collect sensor data from integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses and offload the collect ...
*
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
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:
* ...
*
List of iOS and iPadOS devices
Apple Inc. has developed four Unix-like operating systems, namely iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Devices using these systems include the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, which are mobile devices; the Apple TV, which is a digital media player; an ...
*
List of Mac models grouped by CPU type This list of Mac models grouped by CPU type contains all central processing units (CPUs) used by Apple Inc. for their Mac computers. It is grouped by processor family, processor model, and then chronologically by Mac models.
Motorola 68k Motoro ...
* List of Samsung platforms (SoCs):
**
Exynos
Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.
Exy ...
(none have been used by Apple)
**
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
(some were used in Apple products)
*
PowerVR SGX
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL accelera ...
GPUs were also used in the
iPhone 3GS
The iPhone 3GS (originally styled iPhone 3G S) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the third generation iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009 which took pla ...
and the third-generation iPod Touch
* PWRficient, a processor designed by P.A. Semi, a company Apple acquired to form an in-house custom chip design department
Similar platforms
* Allwinner A31, A31 by AllWinner Technology Co. Ltd., AllWinner
* Atom (system on chip), Atom by Intel
* BCM2xxxx by Broadcom
* eMAG and Altra by Ampere Computing
*
Exynos
Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.
Exy ...
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 ...
* I.MX#i.MX6x series, i.MX by Freescale Semiconductor
* Jaguar (microarchitecture), Jaguar and Puma (microarchitecture), Puma by AMD
* HiSilicon, Kirin by HiSilicon
* List of MediaTek processors, MTxxxx by MediaTek
* NovaThor by ST-Ericsson
* OMAP by Texas Instruments
* Rockchip#RK30xx series, RK3xxx by Rockchip
* Qualcomm Snapdragon, Snapdragon by Qualcomm
* Tegra by
Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
{{ARM-based chips
Apple silicon,
ARM architecture
Computer-related introductions in 2011
System on a chip
32-bit microprocessors
64-bit microprocessors