Apple A5X

Last updated
Apple A5X
Apple A5X Chip.jpg
General information
LaunchedMarch 16, 2012
DiscontinuedOctober 23, 2012
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer(s)
Product codeS5L8945X [1]
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate 1 GHz 
Cache
L1 cache 32 KB instruction + 32 KB data [2]
L2 cache1 MB [2]
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node 45 nm [3] [4]
Microarchitecture ARM Cortex-A9
Instruction set ARMv7
Physical specifications
Cores
  • 2
GPU(s) PowerVR SGX543MP4 (quad-core) [5]
Products, models, variants
Variant(s)
History
Successor Apple A6X

The Apple A5X is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. Apple used it only in the third-generation iPad. The A5X is a high-performance variant of the Apple A5. Apple claimed during their media event on March 7, 2012 that the quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 graphics processing unit (GPU) in the A5X is two times faster than the GPU in the A5, as the A5X GPU contains two more cores than the dual-core version GPU in the A5. [6]

Contents

The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an A5X (third-generation iPad cellular models) was iOS 9.3.6, which was released on July 22, 2019 as it was discontinued with the release of iOS 10 in 2016.

Design

Apple designed the A5X chip specifically for the third-generation iPad to provide the additional graphical performance it required for its new Retina display. The A5X chip features a dual-core 45 nm ARM Cortex-A9 CPU [2] with a clock rate of 1  GHz, [7] and a quad-core 32 nm PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU [5] with a clock rate of 250 MHz. Compared to the A5, the memory interface of the A5X is twice the size. The A5X memory interface subsystem utilizes four 32 bits wide LPDDR2 memory controllers. [5]

Unlike the Apple A4 and the A5, the A5X uses a metal heat spreader (along with thermal paste) to cover the flip chip underneath. [8] The die takes up 162.94 mm2 of area [9] —a 36.5% increase in area used over the 119.32 mm2 die of the S5L8940 version of the A5. [9] The A5X does not use the package on package (PoP) method of installation to support RAM—RAM is found externally from the A5X chip. [8]

Products featuring the Apple A5X

See also

Related Research Articles

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 DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration. PowerVR also develops AI accelerators called Neural Network Accelerator (NNA).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A6X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A6X is a 32-bit system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., introduced at the launch of the 4th generation iPad on October 23, 2012. It is a high-performance variant of the Apple A6 and the last 32-bit chip Apple used on an iOS device before Apple switched to 64-bit. Apple claims the A6X has twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, the Apple A5X. Software updates for the 4th generation iPad ended in 2019 with the release of iOS 10.3.4 for cellular models, thus ceasing support for this chip as it was discontinued with the release of iOS 11 in 2017.

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<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. 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 1st generation variants systems using this chip are iOS 15.7.3, released on January 23, 2023 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 A10X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A10X 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 10.5" iPad Pro and the second-generation 12.9" iPad Pro, which were both announced on June 5, 2017. The A10X is a variant of the A10 and Apple claims that it has 30 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster GPU performance than its predecessor, the A9X.

<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.

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

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<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. 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 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.

References

  1. Straker, Fred (February 22, 2012), "What is the Apple A5X Processor?", The iPad Guide, archived from the original on February 24, 2017, retrieved May 3, 2012
  2. 1 2 3 Gowri, Vivek; Lal Shimpi, Anand (March 28, 2012). "The Apple iPad Review (2012): The A5X SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  3. "The New iPad: A Closer Look Inside". Chipworks. March 16, 2012. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013.
  4. "The Apple A5X versus the A5 and A4 – Big Is Beautiful". Chipworks. March 19, 2012. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Gowri, Vivek; Lal Shimpi, Anand (March 28, 2012). "The Apple iPad Review (2012): The GPU". AnandTech. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  6. "Apple Launches New iPad". Apple. March 7, 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  7. "iFixit 3rd generation iPad teardown". 15 March 2012. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "iPad 3 4G Teardown". iFixit. 2012-03-15. Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  9. 1 2 "The New iPad: A Closer Look Inside » Recent Teardowns » Chipworks". 2012-03-19. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 2020-05-22.