Apple A5
Encyclopedia
The Apple A5 is a package on package
(PoP) system-on-a-chip
(SoC) designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung
to replace the Apple A4
. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad 2
tablet
, and also powers the iPhone 4S
. (This is consistent with how Apple debuted the A4 chip: first in the original iPad, followed by the iPhone 4, and then the iPod touch 4th generation.)
The A5 contains a rendition of a chip based upon the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
CPU with NEON SIMD
accelerator and a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2
GPU. Apple lists the A5 to be clocked at 1 GHz on the iPad 2's technical specifications page, though it can dynamically adjust its frequency to save battery life. Among the customizations that Apple has done to the chip is including an image signal processor unit (ISP) that will do advanced image post-processing such as face detection, white balance and automatic image stabilization.
Apple states that the CPU is twice as powerful and the GPU
up to seven times as powerful as its predecessor, the Apple A4
. The A5 package contains 512 MB of low-power DDR2 RAM clocked at 533 MHz. The A5 is estimated to cost 75% more than its predecessor; the price difference is expected to diminish as production increases.
Package on package
Package on package is an integrated circuit packaging method to combine vertically discrete logic and memory ball grid array packages. Two or more packages are installed atop each other, i.e. stacked, with a standard interface to route signals between them...
(PoP) system-on-a-chip
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
(SoC) designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
to replace the Apple A4
Apple A4
The Apple A4 is a package on package system-on-a-chip designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung. It combines an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU with a PowerVR GPU, and emphasizes power efficiency. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad tablet; followed shortly by the iPhone 4...
. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad 2
IPad 2
The iPad 2 is the second and current generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white...
tablet
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
, and also powers the iPhone 4S
IPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
. (This is consistent with how Apple debuted the A4 chip: first in the original iPad, followed by the iPhone 4, and then the iPod touch 4th generation.)
The A5 contains a rendition of a chip based upon the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multicore processor providing up to 4 cache-coherent Cortex-A9 cores, each implementing the ARM v7 instruction set architecture.-Features:Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:...
CPU with NEON SIMD
SIMD
Single instruction, multiple data , is a class of parallel computers in Flynn's taxonomy. It describes computers with multiple processing elements that perform the same operation on multiple data simultaneously...
accelerator and a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and Direct X, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration....
GPU. Apple lists the A5 to be clocked at 1 GHz on the iPad 2's technical specifications page, though it can dynamically adjust its frequency to save battery life. Among the customizations that Apple has done to the chip is including an image signal processor unit (ISP) that will do advanced image post-processing such as face detection, white balance and automatic image stabilization.
Apple states that the CPU is twice as powerful and the GPU
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
up to seven times as powerful as its predecessor, the Apple A4
Apple A4
The Apple A4 is a package on package system-on-a-chip designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung. It combines an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU with a PowerVR GPU, and emphasizes power efficiency. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad tablet; followed shortly by the iPhone 4...
. The A5 package contains 512 MB of low-power DDR2 RAM clocked at 533 MHz. The A5 is estimated to cost 75% more than its predecessor; the price difference is expected to diminish as production increases.
GPU
- 45 nm Dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2PowerVRPowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and Direct X, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration....
clocked at 200 MHz- Vertex performance: 68 MPolygon/s
- Fill Rate: 1000 MTexels/s
- Trigonometric: 3249.9 kShaders/s
- Uniform Array Access: 3864.0 kVertex/s
Products that include the Apple A5
- Apple iPad 2IPad 2The iPad 2 is the second and current generation of the iPad, a tablet computer designed, developed and marketed by Apple. It serves primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, presentations and web content, and is available in black or white...
— March 2011 - Apple iPhone 4SIPhone 4SThe iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
— October 2011
See also
- Apple AxApple AxApple Ax is a series of ARM based system-on-a-chip processors designed by Apple to fit inside their consumer electronic devices, such as the iPod, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV.-Apple A4:...
, the series of ARM based system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors designed by Apple for their consumer electronic devices. - Apple A4Apple A4The Apple A4 is a package on package system-on-a-chip designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung. It combines an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU with a PowerVR GPU, and emphasizes power efficiency. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad tablet; followed shortly by the iPhone 4...
, Apple's first-generation Apple Ax SoC, featuring a single-core processor. - PWRficientPWRficientPWRficient is the name of a series of microprocessors designed by P.A. Semi.PWRficient processors comply with the 64-bit Power Architecture, and are designed for high performance and extreme power efficiency...
, a processor designed by P.A. SemiP.A. SemiP. A. Semi was a fabless semiconductor company founded in Santa Clara, California in 2003 by Daniel W. Dobberpuhl who was the lead designer for the DEC Alpha 21064 and StrongARM processors...
, a company Apple acquired to form an in-house custom chip design department. - PowerVR SGX GPUs were also used in the iPhone 3GSIPhone 3GS-Camera:The iPhone 3GS features an improved 3 megapixel camera manufactured by OmniVision. In addition to the higher megapixel count, it also features auto-focus, auto white balance and auto macro and is capable of capturing VGA video...
and the third-generation iPod touchIPod touchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
. - ARM Cortex-A9 MPCoreARM Cortex-A9 MPCoreThe ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multicore processor providing up to 4 cache-coherent Cortex-A9 cores, each implementing the ARM v7 instruction set architecture.-Features:Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:...