Apple Ax
Encyclopedia
Apple Ax is a series of ARM
based system-on-a-chip
(SoC) processors designed by Apple to fit inside their consumer electronic
devices, such as the iPod
, iPad
, iPhone
and Apple TV.
(PoP) system-on-a-chip
(SoC) 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
smartphone, the 4th generation iPod Touch
and the 2nd generation Apple TV. It was superseded in the second-generation iPad, released the following year, by the Apple A5
processor.
Apple A4 is based on the ARM processor architecture
. The first version released runs at 1 GHz
for the iPad and contains an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core paired with a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor
(GPU) built on Samsung's 45-nanometer (nm) silicon chip fabrication process. Clock speed for the units used in the iPhone 4, iPod Touch, and Apple TVs have not been revealed.
The Cortex-A8 core used in the A4 is thought to use performance enhancements developed by chip designer Intrinsity
(which was subsequently acquired by Apple) in collaboration with Samsung
. The resulting core, dubbed "Hummingbird", is able to run at far higher clock rates than other implementations while remaining fully compatible with the Cortex-A8 design provided by ARM. Other performance improvements include additional L2 cache. The same Cortex-A8 CPU core used in the A4 is also used in Samsung's S5PC110A01 SoC.
The A4 processor package does not contain RAM, but supports PoP
installation. The top package of the A4 used in the iPad
, in the iPod Touch
4th gen and in the Apple TV 2nd gen contains two low-power 128 MB DDR SDRAM
chips
for a total of 256MB RAM. For the iPhone 4
there are two chips of 256 MB for a total of 512 MB. RAM is connected to the processor using ARM's 64-bit-wide AMBA 3 AXI bus. This is twice the width of the RAM data bus used in previous ARM 11 and ARM 9 based Apple devices, to support the greater need for graphics bandwidth in the iPad.
(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
, followed by iPhone 4S
smartphone
. (This is consistent with how Apple debuted the A4 chip: first in the original iPad, then in the iPhone 4, and finally in the iPod touch 4th generation.)
The A5 contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9
CPU with ARM
's advanced SIMD
extension, marketed as NEON, and a dual core PowerVR 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 SGX535 in the A4 could only push 35 million polygons/second and 500 million pixels/second, although in real world tests it struggled to pull off even 7 million flat shaded polygons. 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.
Apple claims that the CPU is twice as powerful and the GPU
up to nine 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 supposed to diminish as production increases.
Other specifications are unknown though rumors include an increased core count to quad-core, enhanced GPU or an increase in clock speed.
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
based 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) processors designed by Apple to fit inside their consumer electronic
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
devices, such as the iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and Apple TV.
Apple A4
The Apple A4 is a package on packagePackage 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...
. It combines an ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
Cortex-A8
ARM Cortex-A8
The ARM Cortex-A8 is a processor core designed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARM v7 instruction set architecture. Compared to the ARM11 core, the Cortex-A8 is dual-issue superscalar, achieving roughly twice the instructions executed per clock cycle....
CPU with a PowerVR
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, and emphasizes power efficiency. The chip commercially debuted with the release of Apple's iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
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...
; followed shortly by the iPhone 4
IPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail...
smartphone, the 4th generation iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The 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...
and the 2nd generation Apple TV. It was superseded in the second-generation iPad, released the following year, by the Apple A5
Apple A5
The Apple A5 is a package on package system-on-a-chip 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...
processor.
Apple A4 is based on the ARM processor architecture
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
. The first version released runs at 1 GHz
GHZ
GHZ or GHz may refer to:# Gigahertz .# Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state — a quantum entanglement of three particles.# Galactic Habitable Zone — the region of a galaxy that is favorable to the formation of life....
for the iPad and contains an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core paired with a PowerVR SGX 535 graphics processor
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...
(GPU) built on Samsung's 45-nanometer (nm) silicon chip fabrication process. Clock speed for the units used in the iPhone 4, iPod Touch, and Apple TVs have not been revealed.
The Cortex-A8 core used in the A4 is thought to use performance enhancements developed by chip designer Intrinsity
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...
(which was subsequently acquired by Apple) in collaboration with Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
. The resulting core, dubbed "Hummingbird", is able to run at far higher clock rates than other implementations while remaining fully compatible with the Cortex-A8 design provided by ARM. Other performance improvements include additional L2 cache. The same Cortex-A8 CPU core used in the A4 is also used in Samsung's S5PC110A01 SoC.
The A4 processor package does not contain RAM, but supports PoP
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...
installation. The top package of the A4 used in the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, in the iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The 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...
4th gen and in the Apple TV 2nd gen contains two low-power 128 MB DDR SDRAM
DDR SDRAM
Double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory is a class of memory integrated circuits used in computers. DDR SDRAM has been superseded by DDR2 SDRAM and DDR3 SDRAM, neither of which are either forward or backward compatible with DDR SDRAM, meaning that DDR2 or DDR3 memory modules...
chips
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
for a total of 256MB RAM. For the iPhone 4
IPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail...
there are two chips of 256 MB for a total of 512 MB. RAM is connected to the processor using ARM's 64-bit-wide AMBA 3 AXI bus. This is twice the width of the RAM data bus used in previous ARM 11 and ARM 9 based Apple devices, to support the greater need for graphics bandwidth in the iPad.
Apple A5
The Apple A5 is a package on packagePackage 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...
, followed by 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...
smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
. (This is consistent with how Apple debuted the A4 chip: first in the original iPad, then in the iPhone 4, and finally in the iPod touch 4th generation.)
The A5 contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9
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 ARM
ARM
An arm is an upper limb of the body.Arm may also refer to:-Geography:* Arm , a narrow stretch of a larger body of water** Canal arm, a subsidiary branch of a canal or inland waterway** Distributary or arm, a subsidiary branch of a river...
's advanced 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...
extension, marketed as NEON, 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. This GPU can push between 70 and 80 million polygons/second and has a pixel fill rate of 2 billion pixels/second. The SGX535 in the A4 could only push 35 million polygons/second and 500 million pixels/second, although in real world tests it struggled to pull off even 7 million flat shaded polygons. 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.
Apple claims 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 nine 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 supposed to diminish as production increases.
Apple A6
TSMC is reportedly begun trial manufacturing of the Apple A6 on their 28 nm fabrication process. It is debated whether TSMC will be the only supplier of the A6 chip that is speculated will be the heart of the iPad 3, rumored to be released in the first half of 2012, since it's also reported that Apple will stick to Samsung as primary supplier due to fabrication problems at TSMC.Other specifications are unknown though rumors include an increased core count to quad-core, enhanced GPU or an increase in clock speed.
List of Apple SoC
| Name | Fabrication process | Instruction set Instruction set An instruction set, or instruction set architecture , is the part of the computer architecture related to programming, including the native data types, instructions, registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt and exception handling, and external I/O... | Clock rate Clock rate The clock rate typically refers to the frequency that a CPU is running at.For example, a crystal oscillator frequency reference typically is synonymous with a fixed sinusoidal waveform, a clock rate is that frequency reference translated by electronic circuitry into a corresponding square wave... | CPU Cache CPU cache A CPU cache is a cache used by the central processing unit of a computer to reduce the average time to access memory. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from the most frequently used main memory locations... | 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... | RAM Random-access memory Random access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in... | Available… | Used in… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 45 nm | ARMv7 ARM architecture ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced... |
800-1000 MHz Single-core ARM Cortex-A8 ARM Cortex-A8 The ARM Cortex-A8 is a processor core designed by ARM Holdings implementing the ARM v7 instruction set architecture. Compared to the ARM11 core, the Cortex-A8 is dual-issue superscalar, achieving roughly twice the instructions executed per clock cycle.... |
L1: 32 kB Instruction + 32 kB Data, L2: 512 kB | PowerVR 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.... SGX535 |
LPDDR Mobile DDR Mobile DDR is type of double data rate synchronous DRAM for mobile computers.-Original LPDDR:... 200 MHz (Effective 400 MHz) |
March 2010 | iPad IPad The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and... , iPhone 4 IPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail... , iPod Touch IPod Touch The 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... 4th gen, Apple TV 2nd gen |
| A5 | 45 nm | ARMv7 ARM architecture ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced... |
800-1000 MHz Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 | L1: 32 kB instruction + 32 kB data, L2: 1 MB | Dual-core PowerVR 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.... SGX543MP |
LPDDR2 Mobile DDR Mobile DDR is type of double data rate synchronous DRAM for mobile computers.-Original LPDDR:... 266 MHz (Effective 533 MHz) |
March 2011 | 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... , 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... |
Similar platforms
- Snapdragon by QualcommQualcommQualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
- OMAP by Texas InstrumentsTexas InstrumentsTexas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
- Tegra by NvidiaNVIDIANvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
- ExynosExynosSamsung has a long history of designing and producing System on Chips and has been manufacturing SoCs for its own devices as well as others, for example Apple. The first Samsung SoC, S3C44B0, was built around an ARM7 CPU which operated at 66 MHz clock frequency...
by SamsungSamsungThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea... - NovaThorNovaThorNovaThor is a platform consisting of System on Chips for smartphones and tablets produced by ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on February 3, 2009....
by ST-EricssonST-EricssonST-Ericsson is a global wireless platform and semiconductor supplier to four of the top five mobile handset manufacturers. ST-Ericsson is a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on February 3, 2009...
See also
- 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. - Apple A5Apple A5The Apple A5 is a package on package system-on-a-chip 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...
, Apple's second-generation Apple Ax SoC, featuring a dual-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:...