Apple A14

Last updated

Apple A14 Bionic
Apple A14.jpg
General information
LaunchedSeptember 15, 2020
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer
Product codeAPL1W01 [1]
Max. CPU clock rate to 3.0 GHz [2]  
Cache
L2 cache8 MB (performance cores)
4 MB (efficient cores)
L4 cache16 MB (system cache) [3]
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node 5 nm (N5)
Microarchitecture "Firestorm" and "Icestorm" [4] [5]
Instruction set ARMv8.4-A [6]
Physical specifications
Transistors
  • 11.8 billion
Cores
GPU Apple-designed 4 core
Products, models, variants
Variant
History
Predecessor Apple A13 Bionic
Successors Apple A15 Bionic (iPhone)
Apple M1 (iPad Air, iPad Pro)

The Apple A14 Bionic is a 64-bit ARMv8.4-A [6] system on a chip (SoC)designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. 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. [7] [8]

Contents

Design

The Apple A14 Bionic features an Apple-designed 64-bit, six-core CPU, implementing ARMv8 [6] with two high-performance cores called Firestorm and four energy-efficient cores called Icestorm. [5]

The A14 integrates an Apple-designed four-core GPU with 30% faster graphics performance than the A12. [8] The A14 includes dedicated neural network hardware that Apple calls a new 16-core Neural Engine. [8] The Neural Engine can perform 11 trillion operations per second. [8] In addition to the separate Neural Engine, the A14 CPU includes second-generation machine learning matrix scalar multiplication accelerators (which Apple calls AMX blocks). [8] [9] The A14 also includes a new image processor with improved computational photography capabilities. [10]

A14 is manufactured by TSMC on their first-generation 5 nm fabrication process, N5. This makes the A14 the first commercially available product to be manufactured on a 5 nm process node. [11] The transistor count has increased to 11.8 billion, a 38.8% increase from the A13's transistor count of 8.5 billion. [12] [13] According to Semianalysis, the die size of A14 processor is 88 mm2, with a transistor density of 134 million transistors per mm2. [14] It is manufactured in a package on package (PoP) together with 4 GB of LPDDR4X memory in the iPhone 12 [1] and 6 GB of LPDDR4X memory in the iPhone 12 Pro. [1]

The A14 has video codec encoding support for HEVC and H.264. It has decoding support for HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4 Part 2, and Motion JPEG. [15]

The A14 would be later used as the basis for the M1 series of chips, used in various Macintosh and iPad models.

Products that include the Apple A14 Bionic

Variants

The table below shows the various SoCs based on the "Firestorm" and "Icestorm" microarchitectures.

VariantCPU

cores (P+E)

GPU
cores		GPU
EU 		Graphics
ALU 		Neural Engine coresNeural Engine performanceMemory (GB)Transistor
count
A146 (2+4)4645121611 TOPS4–611.8 billion
M1 8 (4+4)71128968–1616 billion
M181281024
M1 Pro 8 (6+2)14224179216–3234 billion
M1 Pro10 (8+2)
M1 Pro162562048
M1 Max 10 (8+2)24384307232–6457 billion
M1 Max325124096
M1 Ultra 20 (16+4)4876861443222 TOPS64–128114 billion
M1 Ultra6410248192

See also

Related Research Articles

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iPad Line of tablet computers by Apple

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<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.

This is a comparison of ARM instruction set architecture application processor cores designed by ARM Holdings and 3rd parties. It does not include ARM Cortex-R, ARM Cortex-M, or legacy ARM cores.

The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 graphics performance while drawing only 50% of the power of its predecessor, the Apple A7. The latest software updates for the 1.1GHz and 1.4GHz variants systems using this chip are iOS 12.5.7, released on January 23, 2023 as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 13 in 2019, and 1.5 GHz variant for the iPad Mini 4 is iPadOS 15.8.2, released on March 5, 2024 as it was discontinued with the release of iPadOS 16 in 2022, while updates for the 1.5 GHz variant continue for Apple TV HD. The A8 chip was discontinued on October 18, 2022, following the discontinuation of the Apple TV HD.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series. 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 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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 16.7.10, released on September 3, 2024.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 40% 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 A12X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A12X Bionic is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, It first appeared in the iPad Pro, announced on October 30, 2018. The A12X is an 8-core variant of the A12 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. 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.

iPad Air (3rd generation) Tablet computer made by Apple (2019–2020)

The iPad Air is a tablet computer developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced and released on March 18, 2019, alongside the 5th-generation iPad Mini.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series. 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 Air (4th generation) Tablet computer made by Apple (2020–2022)

The iPad Air , informally referred to as iPad Air 4, is a tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced by Apple on September 15, 2020. Pre-orders began on October 16, 2020, and shipping began a week later on October 23, 2020 alongside the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. The device closely resembles the design of the 11-inch iPad Pro and has several features that were previously exclusive to the iPad Pro line, such as support for Magic Keyboard and the second-generation Apple Pencil. It is available in five colors: Space Gray, Silver, Rose Gold, Green, and Sky Blue.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 fourteen years after they were switched from PowerPC to Intel, and twenty-six years after the transition from the original Motorola 68000 series to PowerPC. At the time of its 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., part of the Apple silicon series. 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., part of the Apple silicon series, as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac desktops and notebooks, the iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets, 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.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series, and manufactured by TSMC. It is used in iPhones 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, and 15 and 15 Plus.

The Apple A17 Pro is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, and manufactured by TSMC. It is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models only and is the first widely available SoC to be built on a 3 nm process. This chip doesn't have a non-Pro variant, as Apple moved to the TSMC N3E manufacturing node technology and announced the A18 Series on September 9, 2024, with the A18 and the A18 Pro respectively replacing the A16 and the A17 Pro on the new iPhone 16 lineup.

Apple M4 is an ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, including a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), and a digital signal processor (DSP). It was introduced in May 2024 for the iPad Pro (M4), and is the fourth generation of the M series Apple Silicon architecture, succeeding the Apple M3.

The Apple A18 and Apple A18 Pro are a pair of 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. They are used in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups, and built on a second generation 3 nm process by TSMC. Announced on September 9, 2024, they are the successors to the Apple A16 Bionic and the Apple A17 Pro processors, respectively.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Teardown". iFixit. October 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Frumusanu, Andrei (November 20, 2020). "The iPhone 12 & 12 Pro Review: New Design and Diminishing Returns". Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Apple A14 Die Annotation and Analysis – Terrifying Implications For The Industry". SemiAnalysis. October 30, 2020. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Gurman, Mark; Wu, Debby; King, Ian (April 23, 2020). "Apple Aims to Sell Macs With Its Own Chips Starting in 2021". Bloomberg . Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Frumusanu, Andrei (September 15, 2020). "Apple Announces new 8th gen iPad with A12, iPad Air with 5nm A14 Chip". AnandTech . Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "llvm-project/llvm/unittests/TargetParser/TargetParserTest.cpp at main · llvm/llvm-project · GitHub". GitHub . September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Apple iPhone 12 - Full phone specifications" (Press release). October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Apple unveils all-new iPad Air with A14 Bionic, Apple's most advanced chip" (Press release). Apple. September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  9. ↑ Ritchie, Rene (September 28, 2020). "Apple A14 Bionic Explained — From iPad Air to iPhone 12". iMore . Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Apple introduces iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max with 5G" (Press release). Apple. October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ Frumusanu, Andrei (September 15, 2020). "Apple Announces 5nm A14 SoC - Meagre Upgrades, Or Just Less Power Hungry?". AnandTech . Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  12. ↑ Sohail, Omar (September 15, 2020). "Apple A14 Bionic Gets Highlighted With 11.8 Billion Transistors, 40% Higher Performance, New 6-Core CPU, and More". Wccftech. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ Zafar, Ramish (September 10, 2019). "Apple A13 For iPhone 11 Has 8.5 Billion Transistors, Quad-Core GPU". Wccftech. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ Patel, Dylan (October 27, 2020). "Apple's A14 Packs 134 Million Transistors/mm², but Falls Short of TSMC's Density Claims". SemiAnalysis. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  15. ↑ "iPhone 12 – Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
Preceded by Apple A14 Bionic
2020		Succeeded by
Apple A15 Bionic (iPhone)
Apple M1 (iPad Air)
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