Apple A12X

Last updated

Apple A12X Bionic
Apple A12Z Bionic
Apple A12X.jpg
General information
LaunchedA12X: October 30, 2018
A12Z: March 18, 2020
DiscontinuedA12X: March 18, 2020
A12Z: April 20, 2021
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer(s)
Product codeAPL1083 [2]
Max. CPU clock rate to 2.49 [3]  GHz
Cache
L1 cache 128 KB instruction, 128 KB data
L2 cache8 MB
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node 7 nm [4]
Microarchitecture Vortex and Tempest
Instruction set A64 – ARMv8.3-A
Physical specifications
Cores
GPU(s) Apple-designed integrated graphics

A12X: 7 core GPU

A12Z: 8 core GPU
Products, models, variants
Variant(s)
History
Predecessor(s) Apple A10X
Successor(s) Apple M1
A12Z Bionic Apple A12Z.jpg
A12Z Bionic

The Apple A12X Bionic is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPad Pro (3rd generation), announced on October 30, 2018. [4] The A12X is an 8-core variant of the A12 (four big cores, four small cores) and Apple states that it has 35 percent faster single-core CPU performance and 90 percent faster overall CPU performance than its predecessor, the Apple A10X. [4] The Apple A12Z Bionic is an updated version of the A12X, adding an additional GPU core, and was unveiled on March 18, 2020, as part of the iPad Pro (4th generation). [5] [6]

Contents

Design

The A12X and A12Z feature an Apple-designed 64-bit ARMv8.3-A octa-core CPU, with four high-performance cores called Vortex and four energy-efficient cores called Tempest. [4] [1] The Vortex cores are a 7-wide decode out-of-order superscalar design, while the Tempest cores are a 3-wide decode out-of-order superscalar design. The Tempest cores are based on Apple's Swift cores from the Apple A6, and are similar in performance to ARM Cortex-A73 CPU cores. [7] [8] It is Apple's first SoC with an octa core CPU. [1]

The A12X integrates an Apple-designed 7-core graphics processing unit (GPU), with twice the graphics performance of the A10X. [4] The A12Z has an 8-core GPU, one more core than the A12X, enabling better performance in 4K video editing, rendering, and augmented reality. [9] [10] Embedded in the A12X and A12Z is the M12 motion coprocessor. [11] The A12Z additionally features tuned performance controllers and a better thermal architecture compared to the A12X, which potentially allows for higher clock speeds. [12] The A12X and A12Z include dedicated neural network hardware that Apple calls a "next-generation Neural Engine". [4] This neural network hardware, which is the same as found in the A12, [1] can perform up to 5 trillion operations per second. [4]

The A12X and A12Z are manufactured by TSMC using a 7 nm FinFET process, and it contains 10 billion transistors [1] [4] vs. the 6.9 billion on the A12. [13] The A12X is paired with 4 GB of LPDDR4X memory in the third-generation 12.9" iPad Pro and the first-generation 11" iPad Pro, or 6 GB in the 1 TB storage configurations. [14] [2] The A12Z is paired with 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM in the fourth-generation 12.9" iPad Pro and the second-generation 11" iPad Pro. [15]

The A12X has video codec encoding support for HEVC and H.264. It has decoding support for HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4, and Motion JPEG. [16]

Developer Transition Kit (2020)

At its 2020 Worldwide Developer's Conference, Apple introduced the Developer Transition Kit (2020), which uses the A12Z processor with 16 GB RAM in a Mac mini enclosure, hence being the first Macintosh computer to use the Apple silicon architecture. [17]

The A12Z would be used as the basis for the design of the M1, Apple's first in-house processor designed for use in Mac computers. In an interview shortly after the introduction of the DTK (2020), Apple's SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi commented:

“Even that DTK hardware, which is running on an existing iPad chip that we don’t intend to put in a Mac in the future – it’s just there for the transition – the Mac runs awfully nice on that system. It’s not a basis on which to judge future Macs ... but it gives you a sense of what our silicon team can do when they’re not even trying – and they’re going to be trying.” [18]

Products that include the Apple A12X and A12Z Bionic

A12X Bionic

A12Z Bionic

See also

Related Research Articles

The transistor count is the number of transistors in an electronic device. It is the most common measure of integrated circuit complexity. The rate at which MOS transistor counts have increased generally follows Moore's law, which observes that transistor count doubles approximately every two years. However, being directly proportional to the area of a chip, transistor count does not represent how advanced the corresponding manufacturing technology is: a better indication of this is transistor density.

In semiconductor manufacturing, the "7 nm" process is a marketing term for the MOSFET technology node following the "10 nm" node, defined by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. It is based on FinFET technology, a type of multi-gate MOSFET technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple silicon</span> System-on-chip processors designed by Apple Inc.

Apple silicon refers to a series of system on a chip (SoC) and system in a package (SiP) processors designed by Apple Inc., mainly using the ARM architecture. They are the basis of Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, AirPods, AirTag, HomePod, and Apple Vision Pro devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A6</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

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 power compared with its predecessor, the Apple A5. Software updates for devices using this chip ceased in 2019, with the release of iOS 10.3.4 on the iPhone 5 as it was discontinued with the release of iOS 11 in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A8X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

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 A8 inside the iPhone 6 family of smartphones and Apple states that it has 40% more CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of its predecessor, the Apple A7. The latest software update for the iPad Air 2 using this chip is iPadOS 15.8.2, released on March 5, 2024, as it was discontinued with the release of iPadOS 16 in 2022 due to hardware limitations of the A8X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A9X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A9X is a 64-bit ARM architecture-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPad Pro, which was announced on September 9, 2015 and was released on November 11, 2015. The A9X has the M9 motion coprocessor embedded in it, something not seen in previous chip generations. It is a variant of the A9 and Apple claims that it has 80% more CPU performance and twice the GPU performance of its predecessor, the A8X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A10</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A10 Fusion is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by TSMC. It first appeared in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus which were introduced on September 7, 2016, and is used in the sixth generation iPad, seventh generation iPad, and seventh generation iPod Touch. The A10 is the first Apple-designed quad-core SoC, with two high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores. Apple states that it has 40% greater CPU performance and 50% greater graphics performance compared to its predecessor, the Apple A9. The Apple T2 chip is based on the A10. On May 10, 2022, the iPod Touch 7th generation was discontinued, ending production of A10 Fusion chips. The latest software updates for the iPhone 7 & 7 Plus including the iPod Touch 7th generation variants systems using this chip are iOS 15.8.2, released on March 5, 2024, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 16 in 2022, while updates for the iPad variants systems using this chip are still supported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A11</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A11 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by TSMC. It first appeared in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and iPhone X which were introduced on September 12, 2017. Apple states that the two high-performance cores are 25% faster than the Apple A10's and the four high-efficiency cores are up to 70% faster than the two corresponding cores in the A10. The A11 Bionic chip was discontinued on April 15, 2020, following the discontinuation of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The latest software update for the iPhone 8 & 8 Plus and iPhone X using this chip was iOS 16.7.6, released on March 5, 2024, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 17 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A12</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A12 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone XS and XS Max, iPhone XR, iPad Air, iPad Mini, 8th generation iPad and Apple TV 4K. Apple states that the two high-performance cores are 15% faster and 50% more energy-efficient than the Apple A11's, and the four high-efficiency cores use 50% less power than the A11's. It is the first mass-market system on a chip to be built using the 7 nm process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A13</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A13 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. It appears in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro/Pro Max, the 9th generation iPad, the iPhone SE and the Studio Display. Apple states that the two high performance cores are 20% faster with 30% lower power consumption than the Apple A12's, and the four high efficiency cores are 20% faster with 30% lower power consumption than the A12's.

iPad Pro (4th generation) Tablet computer made by Apple (2020–2021)

The fourth-generation iPad Pro is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Two models, with a 12.9 inch or 11 inch screen, were both announced on March 18, 2020, and released on March 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac transition to Apple silicon</span> Transition of the Apple Macintosh platform from Intel x86 to ARM processors

The Mac transition to Apple silicon was the process of switching the central processing units (CPUs) of Apple Inc.'s line of Mac computers from Intel's x86-64 processors to Apple-designed systems on a chip that use the ARM64 architecture.

iPad (8th generation) Tablet computer obsolete by Apple since 2024

The iPad is a tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. as the successor to the 7th-generation iPad. It was announced on September 15, 2020 and released on September 18, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A14</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A14 Bionic is a 64-bit ARMv8.5-A system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. It appears in the fourth generation iPad Air and tenth generation iPad, as well as iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Apple states that the central processing unit (CPU) performs up to 40% faster than the A12, while the graphics processing unit (GPU) is up to 30% faster than the A12. It also includes a 16-core neural engine and new machine learning matrix accelerators that perform twice and ten times as fast, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple M1</span> Series of systems-on-a-chip designed by Apple Inc.

Apple M1 is a series of ARM-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac desktops and notebooks, and the iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets. The M1 chip initiated Apple's third change to the instruction set architecture used by Macintosh computers, switching from Intel to Apple silicon 14 years after they were switched from PowerPC to Intel, and 26 years after the transition from the original Motorola 68000 series to PowerPC. At the time of introduction in 2020, Apple said that the M1 had the world's fastest CPU core "in low power silicon" and the world's best CPU performance per watt. Its successor, Apple M2, was announced on June 6, 2022, at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A15</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A15 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It is used in the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, iPad Mini, iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and 14 Plus and Apple TV 4K.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple M2</span> System on a Chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

Apple M2 is a series of ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac desktops and notebooks, the iPad Pro tablet, and the Vision Pro mixed reality headset. It is the second generation of ARM architecture intended for Apple's Mac computers after switching from Intel Core to Apple silicon, succeeding the M1. Apple announced the M2 on June 6, 2022, at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), along with models of the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro using the M2. The M2 is made with TSMC's "Enhanced 5-nanometer technology" N5P process and contains 20 billion transistors, a 25% increase from the M1. Apple claims CPU improvements up to 18% and GPU improvements up to 35% compared to the M1.

iPadOS 16 2022 tablet operating system by Apple Inc.

iPadOS 16 is the fourth major release of the iPadOS operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. The successor to iPadOS 15, it was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 6, 2022, along with iOS 16, macOS Ventura, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16. It received numerous new features, improving multitasking and many other aspects of the operating system, most notably on iPads with Apple's M1 SoC and later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A16</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A16 Bionic is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by TSMC. It is used in iPhones 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, and 15 and 15 Plus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frumusanu, Andrei (October 30, 2018). "Apple Announces New 11" and 12.9" iPad Pros with A12X SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "iPad Pro 11" Teardown". iFixit. November 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ "iPad8,8 – Geekbench Browser". Geekbench . Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "New iPad Pro with all-screen design is most advanced, powerful iPad ever" (Press release). Apple Inc. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Looking at the Apple A12Z Bionic System on Chip | TechInsights". www.techinsights.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. ↑ Miller, Chance (March 18, 2020). "Apple unveils new iPad Pro with backlit Magic Keyboard case, available to order today". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  7. ↑ Frumusanu, Andrei. "The iPhone XS & XS Max Review: Unveiling the Silicon Secrets". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ Frumusanu, Andrei. "Apple iPhone XS Review Addendum: Small Core and NN Performance". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  9. ↑ Miller, Chance (March 26, 2020). "Report claims new iPad Pro's A12Z Bionic chip is just a 'renamed A12X with an enabled GPU core'". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ Clover, Juli (April 13, 2020). "A12Z Chip in iPad Pro Confirmed to Be Same As A12X, But With Extra GPU Core Enabled". MacRumors. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  11. ↑ "iPad Pro Technical Specifications". Apple Inc. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ Shilov, Anton. "Apple Unveils New iPad Pro: A12Z Bionic, Camera w/ Depth Sensor for AR, Keyboard w/ Trackpad". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  13. ↑ Summers, Nick (September 12, 2018). "Apple's A12 Bionic is the first 7-nanometer smartphone chip". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  14. ↑ Axon, Samuel (November 7, 2018). "2018 iPad Pro review: "What's a computer?"". Ars Technica . Condé Nast. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ Espósito, Felipe (March 18, 2020). "All 2020 iPad Pro models feature 6 GB of RAM, same U1 chip as iPhone 11". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  16. ↑ "iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Apple announces Mac transition to Apple silicon". Apple Newsroom. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ Gruber, John (June 24, 2020). "The Talk Show Remote from WWDC 2020, With Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak". Daring Fireball. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
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