Early iPhone systems-on-chip

Last updated
Early iPhone systems-on-chip
S5L8900.jpg
The S5L8900 system on a chip (SoC)
General information
Launched2007
Designed by Samsung Electronics, based on specifications by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer

iPhone and iPod Touch models released between 2007 and 2009 used system on a chip (SoC) circuits designed by Samsung and manufactured to Apple's specifications. Two such SoCs were used: the Samsung S5L8900, used in the first-generation iPhone, the iPhone 3G, and the first-generation iPod Touch, [1] and the Samsung S5L8920, used in the iPhone 3GS and the third-generation iPod Touch. [2] Both chips belong to Samsung's S5L family of SoCs.

Contents

Apple later switched to in-house designed Apple silicon SoCs, starting with the Apple A4.

History

In 2006, Apple introduced the 2nd generation iPod nano and the iPod Classic. The iPhone, internally called Project Purple, was also in development. Apple needed new SoCs for this planned expansion of the product range, so the S5L87 SoCs were created for the less power-hungry iPod family, and - after initial iPhone prototypes with a Freescale i.MX31 SoC, the S5L89 SoCs were adopted. The S5L87 SoCs were the successors of the PortalPlayer processors used in the iPod until then. Initially, there were no plans to run third-party software on S5L89 SoCs. [3] Accordingly, the GPUs were designed to prioritize energy efficiency over power. [4] This changed with the introduction of the App Store. As a result, Apple bought the chip design company P.A. Semi in 2008 [5] and developed the almost identical [6] S5L8922 and S5L8930 (Apple A4) SoCs to meet increased power requirements. Since 2010, Apple has marketed the S5L89 series as the "Apple A" chip series, starting with the Apple A4 (S5L8930).

Intel's chip supply attempt

In the years leading up to the original iPhone's launch, Intel was in talks with Apple to use Intel x86 chips for the iPhone's processor, instead of ARM. [7] [8] In his autobiography, Steve Jobs claimed that Apple rejected this option due to Intel being too organizationally "slow", and a desire to avoid strengthening Apple's competitors. Intel's CEO Paul Otellini claims the two companies were unable to agree on price and were unwilling to give up control over the chip's design. Otellini later explained that he turned down the deal due to low expected sales, which would not have made up for forecasted costs, and said that "in hindsight, the forecasted cost was wrong and the volume was 100x what anyone thought." [9] [10]

In 2016, Intel laid off 12,000 workers. The company's failure to "pivot into mobile" was seen by some reporters as a key factor. [11]

Samsung SoCs

S5L8900

The Samsung S5L8900 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) manufactured by Samsung for Apple. It combines an ARM CPU with a PowerVR graphics processor. The first product to feature the chip was the original iPhone, followed by the iPod Touch, and iPhone 3G.

Other names for the S5L8900 are ARM 8900B and APL0098. It belongs to Samsung's S5L family of SoCs.

The S5L8900 contains a 32-bit ARMv6 compatible ARM 1176JZF-S CPU core and is manufactured in the 90 nm CMOS process. The default clock rate of the CPU core is normally 666.6 MHz, but has been lowered by Apple to about 412 MHz, [12] and the bus frequency is about 103 MHz. The size of the level 1 cache is 16384 bytes each for data and instruction cache. The memory has a size of 116 MB. [13] As SoC, S5L8900 also has an integrated GPU, a PowerVR MBX LITE clocked at 60 MHz. The S5L8900 thus supports OpenGL 1.1. NOR flash is used to initiate the processor start.

Competing architectures of similar products are Qualcomm's Snapdragon, Texas Instruments' OMAP 4, Nvidia's Tegra 2 and Samsung's Exynos.

The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an S5L8900 (iPhone 3G) was iOS 4.2.1, [14] which was released on November 22, 2010. [15]

S5L8720

The Samsung S5L8720 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) manufactured by Samsung for Apple. It is used in the iPod touch (2nd generation). It is similar to the S5L8900.

S5L8920

The S5L8920 chip used in the iPhone 3GS Apple SoC S5L8920.jpg
The S5L8920 chip used in the iPhone 3GS

The Samsung S5L8920 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) manufactured by Samsung for Apple. The only iPhone to use it was the iPhone 3GS, before being replaced with the Apple A4 with the release of the iPhone 4. [16] The chip is an updated version of the S5L8900 with more processing power. [17] As a result, the iPhone 3GS was widely praised for its increased CPU and GPU performance. [18] [19]

The S5L8920 contains an ARM Cortex-A8 main processor that is compatible with 32-bit Armv7, and backward compatible with ARMv6. It is manufactured in the 65nm CMOS process. The standard Cortex-A8 clock rate is normally 833 MHz, but has been lowered by Apple to around 600 MHz. [20] The memory size is 254 MB. [Note 1] [13] Like its predecessor SoCs, the S5L8920 also has an integrated GPU, a PowerVR SGX535. The S5L8920 thus supports OpenGL 2.0, OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1 with the Extension Pack and OpenVG 1.0.1 & 1.1. A NOR flash is used to boot the processor.

Similar competing architectures include Qualcomm's Snapdragon, Texas Instruments' OMAP 4, Nvidia's Tegra 2 and Samsung's Exynos.

The last operating system that supported the S5L8920 chip was iOS 6.1.6, which was released on February 21, 2014. [21]

S5L8922

The Samsung S5L8922 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) manufactured by Samsung for Apple. It is used in the iPod touch (3rd generation). It is similar to the S5L8920.

Design flaw

A design flaw was discovered in S5L89xx chips: it allows arbitrary code to be executed through the limera1n exploit, a BootROM bug, which was mainly used by jailbreaks. [22] This bug, which cannot be patched through software updates, also allows, among other things, the passcode lock of the iPhone to be bypassed by executing a brute force program within a few minutes without much effort. This bug was fixed with the Apple A5 chip.[ citation needed ]

Later developments

Apple later switched to designing their chips in-house after their acquisition of Intrinsity and PA Semi, leading to the creation of the Apple A4 used in the iPhone 4. [23]

Notes

  1. ↑ As obtained with "SysInfoPlus", a jailbreak app downloaded through Cydia

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">OMAP</span> Texas Instruments image/video processors

OMAP is a family of image/video processors that was developed by Texas Instruments. They are proprietary system on chips (SoCs) for portable and mobile multimedia applications. OMAP devices generally include a general-purpose ARM architecture processor core plus one or more specialized co-processors. Earlier OMAP variants commonly featured a variant of the Texas Instruments TMS320 series digital signal processor.

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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Adreno is a series of graphics processing unit (GPU) semiconductor intellectual property cores developed by Qualcomm and used in many of their SoCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qualcomm Snapdragon</span> Suite of system-on-a-chip (SoC) semiconductor products

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iPhone 3GS 2009 Apple iPhone

The iPhone 3GS, stylized as iPhone 3G🅂, is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the third generation of the iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the WWDC 2009, which took place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

<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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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.

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<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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 is 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">Exynos</span> Family of ARM based system-on-a-chips made by Samsung

The Samsung Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (Korean: 엑시노스), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple A5X</span> System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

The Apple A5X is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, and manufactured by Samsung. It was introduced with and only used in the third-generation iPad, on March 7, 2012. The A5X is a high-performance variant of the Apple A5. Apple claimed 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola RAZR i</span> Smartphone designed by Motorola Mobility

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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 15.8.3, released on July 29, 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 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 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., part of the Apple silicon series, 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 15.8.3, released on July 29, 2024, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 16 in 2022, while updates for the iPad 7th generation variant systems using this chip are still supported.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ "All Devices Using Samsung S5L8900". DeviceBeast. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  2. ↑ "All Devices Using Samsung S5L8920". DeviceBeast. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  3. ↑ Timmer, John (2017-06-28). "A touch of Cocoa: Inside the original iPhone SDK". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  4. ↑ "PowerVR GPUs: Bringing OpenGL ES graphics to mobile for over ten years - With Imagination". imagination Tech. 2014-01-12. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  5. ↑ "Apple Buys Chip Designer". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  6. ↑ "Seziert und analysiert: Noch mehr Details zum Apple A4". Mac Life (in German). 2010-05-11. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  7. ↑ Lee, Timothy B. (2016-04-20). "Intel made a huge mistake 10 years ago. Now 12,000 workers are paying the price". Vox. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  8. ↑ Miller, Chris (2022-10-04). Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   978-1-9821-7200-8. Archived from the original on 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  9. ↑ "Outgoing Intel CEO regrets not getting Intel CPU in iPhone". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  10. ↑ Madrigal, Alexis C. (2013-05-16). "Paul Otellini's Intel: Can the Company That Built the Future Survive It?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  11. ↑ Shieber, Jonathan (2016-05-17). "How Intel missed the iPhone revolution". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  12. ↑ PhoneDB. "Samsung S5L8900 datasheet | Processor Specs | PhoneDB". phonedb.net. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  13. 1 2 As obtained with "SysInfoPlus", a jailbreak app downloaded through Cydia.
  14. ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (March 9, 2011). "iOS 4.3 Review". AnandTech. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  15. ↑ "Apple releases iOS 4.2.1". Macworld. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  16. ↑ "ARM to A4: How Apple changed the climate in mobile silicon". AppleInsider. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  17. ↑ "iPhone 3GS Review". Gizmodo. 2009-06-17. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  18. ↑ Shimpi, Anand Lal (July 7, 2009). "Understanding the iPhone 3GS". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  19. ↑ "iPhone 3GS Smokes Competition in OpenGL Benchmarks - ExtremeTech". ExtremeTech. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  20. ↑ "Samsung S5L8920 - CPUlist". PDAdb.net. 2011-05-02. Archived from the original on 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  21. ↑ Kahn, Jordan. "iOS 6.1.6 Archives". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  22. ↑ "Apple hat vermutlich den Limera1n Exploit in neuen Geräten bereits wieder gepatched" [Apple has probably already patched the Limera1n exploit in new devices]. hack2learn (in German). 2013-12-30. Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  23. ↑ Stokes, Jon (2010-04-28). "Apple purchase of Intrinsity confirmed". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
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