Apple A16

Last updated

Apple A16 Bionic
Apple A16.jpg
General information
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2022
Marketed by Apple Inc.
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer
Product codeAPL1W10 [1]
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate 2.02 GHz to 3.46 GHz
Cache
L1 cache 320 KB per P-core (192 KB instruction + 128 KB data)
224 KB per E-core (128 KB instruction + 96 KB data)
L2 cache16 MB (performance cores)
4 MB (efficient cores)
Last level cache24 MB
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node 4 nm (N4P)
Microarchitecture
  • Everest
  • Sawtooth
Instructions ARMv8.6-A [2]
Physical specifications
Transistors
  • 16 billion
Cores
  • 6 cores:
    • 2 performance
    • 4 efficiency
Memory (RAM)
  • 6 GB
GPU Apple-designed 5-core GPU @ 1398 MHz
Products, models, variants
Variant
  • Apple S9/S10 SiP (cut-down version that utilizes high efficiency cores from A16)
History
Predecessor Apple A15 Bionic
Successors Apple A17 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max), Apple A18, Apple A18 Pro (iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max)

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. [3]

Contents

Design

The Apple A16 Bionic features an Apple-designed 64-bit six-core CPU implementing ARMv8.6-A [2] with two "Everest" [4] [5] high-performance cores running at 3.46 GHz, [6] and four "Sawtooth" [4] [5] energy-efficient cores running at 2.02 GHz, [7] in a similar design to the A15 processor on iPhone 14. Apple claims the A16 is about 40% faster than the competition, [3] and it also has new efficiency cores, with their big advantage being they use a third of the power of the best efficiency cores of other phones on the market.

The A16 contains 16 billion transistors, a 6.7% increase from the A15's transistor count of 15 billion. It includes an improved neural processing unit (NPU) with 16 cores known as the "Apple Neural Engine", a new image signal processor (ISP) with improved computational photography capabilities, and a new module for handling screen-related features that Apple calls a "Display Engine". [3]

The A16 has hardware video encoding and decoding support for the HEVC, H.264, and ProRes codec. [8]

During the iPhone 14 launch event Apple touted the A16 chip as the first 4 nm processor in a smartphone. [3] However, a TechInsights analysis found that the A16 was manufactured by TSMC on their N4P process. [9] "N4P", as it is called, is a de facto 5 nm fabrication process [10] that offers enhancements in performance, power and density when compared to previous products in the same 5 nm family: N5, N5P and N4. [11] [12] [13] [10]

In September 2024 TSMC started producing A16 chips in Arizona fab using the same N4P process as by the main Taiwan plant. [14]

GPU and memory

The A16 integrates an Apple-designed five-core GPU, which is reportedly coupled with 50% more memory bandwidth when compared to the A15's GPU. [3] [15]

The A16's memory has been upgraded to LPDDR5 for 50% higher bandwidth and a 7% faster 16-core neural engine, capable of 17 trillion operations per second (TOPS). In comparison, the neural engine on the A15 was capable of 15.8 TOPS. All variants of the SoC come with 6 GB of memory. [3] [6] Unlike previous generations of Apple's A-Series chips, the A16 utilises a vertical version of the A12X/M1 packaging instead of traditional PoP DRAM. This system is based on an epoxy glass substrate with DRAM mounted on one side, A16 SoC on the other side, and presumably via's going through the epoxy glass that connect the two. Due to the removal of PoP wires, the A16's energy consumption per DRAM read/write transaction has been slightly reduced. [16]

ISP and Display Engine

The new image processor (ISP) found on the A16 chip improved its computational photography capabilities. It was designed to handle the higher resolution image sensor found in the iPhone 14 Pro, being capable of performing up to 4 trillion operations per photo. [3]

The Display Engine is a first on Apple A-series. It enables a better functioning "always on display" feature, and handles other tasks such as the 1 Hz refresh rate, the higher peak brightness of the display and improved anti-aliasing techniques that help smooth out rough edges in the rendering of graphics and images on device displays. [3]

Firmware

New startup and shutdown chimes were added, only being available in accessibility. [17] [16]

Products that include the Apple A16 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 die, transistor count does not represent how advanced the corresponding manufacturing technology is. A better indication of this is transistor density which is the ratio of a semiconductor's transistor count to its die area.

In semiconductor manufacturing, the "7 nm" process is a term for the MOSFET technology node following the "10 nm" node, defined by the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS), which was preceded by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS). 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A9</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A9 is a 64-bit ARM-based system-on-chip (SoC)designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. Manufactured for Apple by both TSMC and Samsung, it first appeared in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus which were introduced on September 9, 2015. Apple states that it has 70% more CPU performance and 90% more graphics performance compared to its predecessor, the Apple A8. On September 12, 2018, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus along with the first-generation iPhone SE was discontinued, ending production of A9 chips. The latest software updates for the iPhone 6s & 6s Plus including the iPhone SE variants systems using this chip are iOS 15.8.3, released around August, 2024, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 16 in 2022, and for the iPad using this chip was iPadOS 16.7.10, also released on September 3, 2024, as it was discontinued with the release of iPadOS 17 in 2023.

<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.

<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.

<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 ARMv8.4-A 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.

iPhone 13 15th-generation smartphone by Apple Inc.

The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini are smartphones designed, developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. They are the fifteenth generation of iPhones. They were unveiled at an Apple Event in Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 14, 2021, alongside the higher-priced iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max flagships. Pre-orders for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini began on September 17, 2021. They were officially released on September 24, 2021.

iPad Mini (6th generation) Tablet computer made by Apple since 2021

The sixth-generation iPad Mini is a tablet computer in the iPad Mini line, designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on September 14, 2021, and released on September 24, 2021, alongside the ninth-generation iPad, iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. Its predecessor, the fifth-generation iPad Mini, was discontinued on the same day. It is available in four colors: Space Gray, Starlight, Pink, and Purple.

<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.

iPhone 14 Pro 2022 smartphone by Apple

The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are smartphones that were designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the sixteenth generation flagship iPhones, succeeding the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. The devices were unveiled alongside the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus during the Apple Event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, on September 7, 2022. Pre-orders for the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max began on September 9, 2022, and were made available on September 16, 2022. Being, along with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, the last iPhones to use a Lightning port, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max were discontinued on September 12, 2023, following the announcement of their successors, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, which replaces the Lightning port with USB-C to comply with European Commission regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple M3</span> System on a Chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

Apple M3 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. Released in late 2023, it is the third generation of ARM architecture intended for Apple's Mac computers after switching from Intel Core to Apple silicon, succeeding the Apple M2.

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. ↑ "iPhone 14 Pro Max Chip ID". iFixit. September 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "llvm-project/llvm/unittests/TargetParser/TargetParserTest.cpp at main · llvm/llvm-project · GitHub". GitHub . September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hristov, Victor (September 17, 2022). "A16 Bionic explained: what's new in Apple's Pro-grade mobile chip?". Phone Arena. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "The codename of the CPU core of A16 for iPhone14 Pro is revealed-posted by leaker". iPhone Wired. September 12, 2022. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Buckner, Sanjay (September 13, 2022). "Apple's A16 Bionic Gets New Cores, Now Codenamed After Mountains". News Revive. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "iPhone 14 Pro Max with A16 chipset appears on Geekbench with minimal performance improvement". GSMArena. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ "AArch64: add support for newer Apple CPUs". github.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  8. ↑ "iPhone 14 Pro - Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Apple APL1W10 A16 Bionic TSMC N4P FinFET Application Processor Digital Floorplan Analysis". TechInsights. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Cross, Jason (January 5, 2023). "Apple's 3nm iPhone chip advantage (and why it doesn't really matter)". MacWorld. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  11. ↑ "5nm Technology". TSMC. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  12. ↑ Schor, David (October 26, 2021). "TSMC Extends Its 5nm Family With A New Enhanced-Performance N4P Node". WikiChip Fuse. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  13. ↑ "N3E Replaces N3; Comes In Many Flavors". WikiChip Fuse. September 4, 2022. Archived from the original on September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Apple orders A16 SoC production from TSMC plant in United States". notebookcheck.net. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Apple A16 Bionic: All you need to know about the new chip". Trusted Reviews. September 7, 2022. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "iPhone 14 Proの心臓部、「A16 Bionic」を解析する". EE Times Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  17. ↑ Rossignol, Joe (September 7, 2022). "iPhone 14 Features a Mac-Like Startup Sound While Turning on". MacRumours. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
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