Apple Inc. designs its own System on Chip (SoC) and System in Package (SiP) processors for its consumer devices. Development is headed by Senior VP of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji.[1]
History
In April 2008, Apple acquired P.A. Semi for $278 million to bring fabless processor design in-house to the company. At the time, Apple relied on Intel for central processing units in its desktop products and Samsung for its mobile products.[2]
Early processors
Apple first used SoC (System on Chip) designs in early revisions of the iPhone and iPod touch. Specified by Apple and manufactured by Samsung, they combine into one package: a single ARM-based processing core (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and other electronics necessary for mobile computing.
- The APL0098 (also 8900B[3] or S5L8900) is a package on package (PoP) system on a chip (SoC) that was introduced on June 29, 2007, at the launch of the original iPhone. It includes a 412 MHz single-core ARM11 CPU and a PowerVR MBX Lite GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a 90 nm process.[4] The iPhone 3G and the first-generation iPod touch also used it.[5]
- The APL0278[6] (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 MBX Lite GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a 65 nm process.[4][5]
- The APL0298 (also S5L8920) is a PoP SoC introduced on June 8, 2009, at the launch of the iPhone 3GS. It includes a 600 MHz single-core Cortex-A8 CPU and a PowerVR SGX535 GPU. It was manufactured by Samsung on a 65 nm process.[7]
- The APL2298 (also S5L8922) is a 45 nm die shrunk version of the iPhone 3GS SoC and was introduced on September 9, 2009, at the launch of the third-generation iPod touch.[4]
A series
An Apple A6X processor.
- Apple A4 — introduced in the iPad and also used in the iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation), and Apple TV (2nd generation).
- Apple A5 — introduced in the iPad 2 and used in the iPhone 4S.
- Apple A5X — introduced in the iPad (3rd generation).
- Apple A6 — introduced in the iPhone 5 and used in the iPhone 5C; contained a custom CPU designed internally at Apple (called "Swift") instead of one licensed from ARM.[8]
- Apple A6X — introduced in the iPad (4th generation).
- Apple A7 — introduced in the iPhone 5S.
- Apple A8 — introduced in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
- Apple A8X — introduced in the iPad Air 2.
- Apple A9 — introduced in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
- Apple A9X — introduced in the first generation iPad Pro.
- Apple A10 Fusion — introduced in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
- Apple A10X Fusion — introduced in the 2nd generation iPad Pro.
- Apple A11 Bionic — introduced in the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
- Apple A12 Bionic — introduced in the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max.
- Apple A12X Bionic — introduced in the 3rd generation iPad Pro.
- Apple A12Z Bionic — introduced in the 4th generation iPad Pro.
- Apple A13 Bionic — introduced in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max and also used in the iPhone SE (2nd generation).
- Apple A14 — anticipated to be introduced in the iPhone 12 and upcoming Macs.[9]
S series
- Apple S1 — introduced in the original Apple Watch.
- Apple S1P — introduced in the Apple Watch Series 1.
- Apple S2 — introduced in the Apple Watch Series 2.
- Apple S3 — introduced in the Apple Watch Series 3.
- Apple S4 — introduced in the Apple Watch Series 4.
- Apple S5 — introduced in the Apple Watch Series 5.
T series
- Apple T1 — manages the System Management Controller (SMC) in the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros
- Apple T2 — introduced in the first iMac Pro.
W series
- Apple W1 — manages Bluetooth and battery usage in the first generation AirPods.
- Apple W2 — integrated into the Apple S3 used in the Apple Watch Series 3.
- Apple W3 — integrated into the Apple S4 and S5 used in the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5.
H series
- Apple H1 — introduced in 2nd generation AirPods for increased efficiency over the W1.
U series
- Apple U1 — uses ultra-wideband technology to control spatial awareness in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max.
References
- ↑ "The Most Important Apple Executive You’ve Never Heard Of", Bloomberg.
- ↑ "Apple Buys Chip Designer", Forbes. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ↑ iPhone 1st Generation Teardown. iFixit (June 29, 2007). Retrieved on September 19, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Choi, Young (May 10, 2010). Analysis gives first look inside Apple's A4 processor. EETimes. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved on September 15, 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 That iPod touch runs at 533 MHz. TechHive (25 November 2008).
- ↑ iPod Touch 2nd Generation Teardown. iFixit (September 10, 2008). Retrieved on September 19, 2013.
- ↑ Lal Shimpi, Anand (June 10, 2009). The iPhone 3GS Hardware Exposed & Analyzed. AnandTech. Retrieved on September 13, 2013.
- ↑ The iPhone 5 Review - Decoding Swift. AnandTech (October 16, 2012). Retrieved on October 17, 2012.
- ↑ Apple A14 Processor To Exceed 3.1GHz by Yasir Zeb, Research Snipers. 2020-03-15.
See also
External links
- Apple-designed processors at Wikipedia
Articles
- How Apple Built a Chip Powerhouse to Threaten Qualcomm and Intel by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg Technology (2018-01-29, archived 2018-01-29)
