Apple A8

Last updated
Apple A8
Apple A8 system-on-a-chip.jpg
Apple A8 processor
General information
LaunchedSeptember 9, 2014
DiscontinuedOctober 18, 2022
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer(s)
Product codeAPL1011 [2]
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate 1.1 GHz (iPod Touch (6th generation))  to 1.4 GHz (iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus) and 1.5 GHz (iPad mini 4 & Apple TV (4th Gen)) [3]  
Cache
L1 cache Per core: 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data [4]
L2 cache1 MB shared [4]
L3 cache4 MB [4]
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node 20 nm [5]
Microarchitecture Typhoon [6] [7]
Instruction set ARMv8-A: [4] A64, A32, T32
Physical specifications
Transistors
  • 2 billion
Cores
GPU(s) Custom PowerVR Series 6XT (quad-core) [9] [10]
Products, models, variants
Variant(s)
History
Predecessor(s) Apple A7
Successor(s) Apple A9

The Apple A8 is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which were introduced on September 9, 2014. [11] 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, [12] 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. [13]

Contents

Design

The A8 is manufactured on a 20 nm process [5] by TSMC, [1] which replaced Samsung as the manufacturer of Apple's mobile device processors. It contains 2 billion transistors. Despite having twice the number of transistors of the A7, the A8's physical size has been reduced by 13% to 89 mm2 (0.138 in2). [8] The A8 uses LPDDR3-1333 RAM on a 64-bit memory interface; in the iPhone 6/6 Plus, sixth generation iPod Touch, and HomePod, the A8 has 1 GB RAM included in the package. [2] Meanwhile, the A8 in the iPad Mini 4 and 4th generation Apple TV is packaged with 2 GB RAM. [14] [15]

The A8 CPU has a per-core L1 cache of 64  KB for data and 64 KB for instructions, an L2 cache of 1  MB shared by both CPU cores, and a 4 MB L3 cache that services the entire SoC. [4] As its predecessor, it has a 6 decode, 6 issue, 9 wide, out-of-order design. The processor is dual core, and as used in the iPhone 6 has a frequency of 1.4 GHz, supporting Apple's claim of it being 25% faster than the A7. [16] It also supports the notion of this being a second generation [17] enhanced Cyclone core called Typhoon, [6] [7] and not an entirely new architecture which would supposedly mean a more significant performance gain per Hz. [4]

The A8 also integrates a graphics processing unit (GPU) which is a 4-shader-cluster PowerVR Series 6XT. [18] However the GPU features custom shader cores designed by Apple. [10]

On October 16, 2014, Apple introduced a variant of the A8, the A8X, in the iPad Air 2. Compared with the A8, the A8X has an enhanced 8-shader-cluster GPU and improved CPU performance due to one extra core and higher frequency.

The A8 has video codec encoding support for H.264. It has decoding support for H.264, MPEG‑4, and Motion JPEG. [19]

Patent litigation

The A8's branch predictor has been claimed to infringe on a 1998 patent. [20] [21] On October 14, 2015, a district judge found Apple guilty of infringing U.S. patent US 5781752  , "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer", on the Apple A7 and A8 processors. [21] The patent is owned by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), a firm affiliated with the University of Wisconsin. On July 24, 2017, Apple was ordered to pay WARF $506 million for patent infringement. Apple filed an appellate brief on October 26, 2017, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that argued that Apple did not infringe on the patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. [22] On September 28, 2018, the ruling was overturned on appeal and the award thrown out by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. [23] The patent expired in December 2016. [24]

Products that include the Apple A8

A8 SoC on iPhone 6 main logic board. A8 APL1011 iPhone6 mlb 820-3486-A.jpg
A8 SoC on iPhone 6 main logic board.


See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Most analysts have reported that the Apple A8 is manufactured by TSMC, including Chipworks, [note 2] Techinsights, [note 3] and AnandTech. [note 4] An analyst at IHS reports that manufacturing is split, with TSMC manufacturing about 60 percent and Samsung manufacturing about 40 percent. [note 5]
  3. "Logic Detailed Structural Analysis of the 20 nm Node, TSMC Fabricated Apple A8 APL1011". Techinsights. August 28, 2015. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  4. Ho, Joshua (November 2, 2015). "The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review: Analyzing Apple A9's SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. Hesseldahl, Arik (September 23, 2014). "Teardown Shows Apple's iPhone 6 Cost at Least $200 to Build". Re/code. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMD APU</span> Series of microprocessors by AMD

AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), formerly known as Fusion, is a series of 64-bit microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), combining a general-purpose AMD64 central processing unit (CPU) and 3D integrated graphics processing unit (IGPU) on a single die.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A4</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A4 is a 32-bit package on package (PoP) system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. It was the first SoC Apple designed in-house. The first product to feature the A4 was the first-generation iPad, followed by the iPhone 4, fourth-generation iPod Touch, and second-generation Apple TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A5</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A5 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the iPad 2. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011, that the ARM Cortex-A9 central processing unit (CPU) in the A5 is up to two times faster than the CPU in the Apple A4, and the PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processing unit (GPU) in the A5 is up to nine times faster than the GPU in the A4. Apple also claimed that the A5 uses the same amount of power as the A4.

<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.

The Apple A7 is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPhone 5S, which was announced on September 10, 2013, and the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, which were both announced on October 22, 2013. Apple states that it is up to twice as fast and has up to twice the graphics power compared to its predecessor, the Apple A6. It is the first 64-bit SoC to ship in a consumer smartphone or tablet computer. On March 21, 2017, the iPad mini 2 was discontinued, ending production of A7 chips. The latest software update for systems using this chip was iOS 12.5.7, released on January 23, 2023, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 in 2019.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple motion coprocessors</span> Series of motion coprocessors by Apple

The Apple M-series coprocessors are motion coprocessors used by Apple Inc. in their mobile devices. First released in 2013, their function is to collect sensor data from integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses and offload the collecting and processing of sensor data from the main central processing unit (CPU).

<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 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 15.8.2, released on March 5, 2024, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 16 in 2022, and for the iPad 5th generation using this chip was iPadOS 16.7.6, also released on March 5, 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. 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 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. 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 40% 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 ARMv8.5-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 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 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 "Inside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus". Chipworks. September 19, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "iPhone 6 Plus Teardown". iFixit. September 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ "iPad Mini 4 performance preview: A 1.5 GHz Apple A8 with 2GB of RAM". Ars Technica. September 15, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The iPhone 6 Review: A8's CPU: What Comes After Cyclone?". AnandTech. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Smith, Ryan (September 9, 2014). "Apple Announces A8 SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "The Samsung Exynos 7420 Deep Dive - Inside A Modern 14nm SoC". Archived from the original on 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
  7. 1 2 Chester, Brandon (July 15, 2015). "Apple Refreshes The iPod Touch With A8 SoC And New Cameras". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Anthony, Sebastian. "Apple's A8 SoC analyzed: The iPhone 6 chip is a 2-billion-transistor 20nm monster". www.extremetech.com. ExtremeTech. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Smith, Ryan (September 23, 2014). "Chipworks Disassembles Apple's A8 SoC: GX6450, 4MB L3 Cache & More". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Kanter, David. "A Look Inside Apple's Custom GPU for the iPhone". Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  11. ↑ "Apple Announces iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus—The Biggest Advancements in iPhone History" (Press release). Apple. September 9, 2014. Archived from the original on September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  12. ↑ Savov, Vlad (September 9, 2014). "iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have a new faster A8 processor". The Verge . Vox Media. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ Clark, Mitchell (2022-10-18). "The Apple TV HD is no longer available on Apple's store". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  14. ↑ Chester, Brandon (September 9, 2015). "Apple Announces the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4". AnandTech. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  15. ↑ "The New Apple TV". Apple Inc. September 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Alleged iPhone 6 Geekbench Results Reveal 1.4 GHz Dual-Core A8 Chip, 1 GB of RAM". Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  17. ↑ "Apple - iPhone 6 - Technology". Archived from the original on 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
  18. ↑ "The iPhone 6 Review: A8's GPU: Imagination Technologies' PowerVR GX6450". AnandTech. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  19. ↑ "iPhone 6 - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  20. ↑ Chirgwin, Richard (February 4, 2014). "Cupertino copied processor pipelining claims Wisconsin U". www.theregister.co.uk. The Register. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  21. 1 2 Joe Mullin (October 14, 2015). "Apple faces $862M patent damage claim from University of Wisconsin". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  22. ↑ Wolfe, Jan (October 26, 2017). "Apple urges appeals court to toss $506 million patent loss to WARF". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ Stempel, Jonathan (September 28, 2018). "Apple wins reversal in University of Wisconsin patent lawsuit". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  24. ↑ Wolfe, Jan (July 25, 2017). "Apple ordered to pay $506 million to university in patent dispute". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
Preceded by
Apple A7 (APL0698 Variant)
 Apple A8
2014		Succeeded by
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