1, A4
On January 27, 2010, the first generation of self-designed A4 processor was released with the first generation of iPad, based on the Samsung 45nm process. Through independent design, its power consumption is much lower than that of its friendly companies.
CPU—Cortex A8 architecture (using ARM-V7 instruction set ): single core, main frequency is 800MHz (iPad generation uses the overclocked version of 1Ghz).
GPU—PowerVR SGX535: This is the product of the British Imagination company. Single core, core frequency is 200Mhz. Apple provides it with a direct connection of RAM and GPU, which has stronger I/O throughput. has a polygon generation rate of of 25M/s, and a pixel filling rate of is 480M/s, which has a very powerful performance.
2, A5/A5X
On March 3, 2011, A5 processor was released with iPad2, and process technology remains unchanged and Samsung 45nm.
CPU—Cortex A9 architecture (using ARM-V7 instruction set ): adopts a dual-core design for the first time, with a main frequency of 800Mhz, and its performance is twice as high as the previous generation, but its power consumption is not improved.
GPU—PowerVR SGX543MP2: dual core, core frequency is 250Mhz. Officials claim that its graphics performance is nine times that of the previous generation!
The A5X processor released on March 8, 2012 not only increases the main frequency of CPU and GPU, but also increases the core of the GPU to quad-core, and directly doubles the graphics performance!
, A6 / A6X
Dual-core CPU+tri-core GPU layout
A6 processor was released in September 2012 with iPhone5, based on Samsung's 32nm process, which is significantly improved compared to the 45nm process of A4 and A5. It has Apple's first generation self-developed CPU core.
CPU—A self-developed Swift architecture ( uses ARMv7 instruction set): dual-core, main frequency is 1.3GHz, performance is about twice that of the previous generation, but the power consumption of is reduced by 22%.
GPU—PowerVR SGX543MP3: three cores, core frequency is 325Mhz, and performance is about twice that of the previous generation.
In October of the same year, A6X processor was released with iPad4. This time, due to the support of self-developed CPU (the main frequency has been increased to 1.4Ghz), the improvement of process technology, and the redesigned quad-core GPU, its overall performance is twice that of the A5X.
, A7
Dual-core CPU + quad-core GPU A7
213 September A7 processor was released with the iPhone 5S. is based on Samsung's 28nm process and integrates more than 1 billion transistors.
CPU—A self-developed Cyclone architecture ( is based on 64-bit ARMv8 instruction set): dual-core, 1.3GHz main frequency, and its performance is about twice that of previous generations. Joining the M7 sports assistance processor for the first time.
GPU—PowerVR G6430: quad core, core frequency 450Mhz, performance has been increased to twice the previous generation.
, A8 / A8X
Toothpaste squeeze A8
A8 processor was released with the iPhone6 series in September 2014, based on TSMC's 20nm process, integrating about 2 billion transistors.
CPU— self-developed Typhoon architecture (based on 64-bit ARMv8 instruction set ) : dual core, main frequency is 1.4GHz, performance is about 25% higher than the previous generation (performance improvement is greatly slowed down), and power consumption of is reduced by 50% .
GPU—PowerVR G6450: quad core, core frequency is 533Mhz, performance is about 50% higher than the previous generation.
October of the same year A8X processor came out with iPad Air2. The process technology remains unchanged, containing about 3 billion transistors .Using a new triple-core CPU (main frequency 1.5Ghz) and a new octa-core GPU design, it has a 40% improvement in CPU performance compared to the A7 and a 2.5x improvement in GPU performance.
6, A9 / A9X
Dual-core CPU + hexa-core GPU A9
September 2015 A9 processor was released with iPhone6S series. has two process versions, namely Samsung 14nm FinFET LPE process and TSMC 16nm FinFET process.
CPU— Self-developed Twister architecture ( is based on ARMv8-A instruction set): dual core, 1.85GHz main frequency, performance is about 70% higher than the previous generation.
GPU—PowerVR GT7600: six-core, core frequency is 650Mhz, performance improvement is about 90%.
simultaneous A9X processor was released with the first generation iPad Pro and was manufactured by TSMC 16 nm FinFET process. The CPU is still dual-core design, but the GPU has predicted 12 cores! Compared with its predecessor, the A8X, the CPU performance is 80% higher and the GPU performance is twice as high.
, A10 / A10X Fusion
Performance explosion A10 series processor
A10 Fusion processor was released in September 2016 with the iPhone 7 series, manufactured based on TSMC's 16nm FinFET process, integrating 3.3 billion transistors.
CPU— self-developed "2+2" architecture ( is based on ARMv8-A instruction set): four cores, with a maximum main frequency of 2.34GHz, is 40% faster than the previous generation. has two high-performance Hurricane large cores and two high-efficiency Zephyr small cores, and the operating power of its small cores can be as low as one-fifth of the large cores. However, the four cores cannot be opened at the same time and can only switch between high performance and high energy efficiency.
GPU—PowerVR GT7600: six-core, core frequency is 900Mhz, speed is increased by 50%.
A10X Fusion processor was released with iPad Pro (second generation) in June 2017, using TSMC's 10nm FinFET process. CPU adopts the "three major cores + three small cores" design, and its performance is 30% faster than its predecessor A9X; the number of GPU cores remains unchanged, but the performance is improved by 40%.
, A11 Bionic
Hexa-core CPU + three-core self-developed GPU A11
September 2017 A11 Bionic processor was released with the iPhone 8 series, and was manufactured based on TSMC's 10nm process. integrates 4.3 billion transistors. Since this generation, not only added the neural network engine (dual core design), but also Apple's self-developed GPU.
CPU— self-developed "2+4" architecture ( is based on ARMv8-A instruction set): six cores, consisting of 2 high-performance Monsoon large cores (main frequency 2.39Ghz) and 4 high-efficiency Mistral small cores (main frequency 1.42Ghz). This generation is a real six-core CPU that can "open up firepower" and its multi-core CPU performance is 70% higher than that of A10.
self-developed GPU: has three self-developed GPU cores, which has a 30% increase in performance compared to the previous generation and a 50% decrease in power consumption.
9, A12/A12X/A12Z Bionic
6-core CPU + quad-core self-developed GPU A12
A12 Bionic processor was released with the iPhone XS series in September 2018. It adopts TSMC's 7nm FinFET process and integrates 6.9 billion transistors. The neural network engine has increased from two cores to eight.
CPU— Self-developed "2+4" architecture ( is based on ARMv8.3-A instruction set): The main frequency of the two Vortex large cores has increased to 2.49GHz, and the main frequency of the four tempest small cores has increased to 1.6GHz. Performance is up to 15% higher than A11 Bionic, and power consumption of small cores is up to 50%.
self-developed GPU: is upgraded to four cores, 50% faster than the previous generation.
A12X Bionic processor Processing process remains unchanged, including 10 billion transistors, and was released with the third generation of iPad Pro in October of the same year. The CPU adopts the "four major cores + four small cores" design, and the single-core CPU performance is 35% faster than its predecessor A10X, and the overall CPU performance is 90% faster; there are as many as seven self-developed GPU cores!
A12Z Bionic processor was released with the fourth generation of iPad Pro in March 2020. Compared with the A12X, the only difference is that it opens up a closed GPU core, which means it has eight self-developed GPU cores.
0, A13 Bionic processor
has little change. A13
September 2019 A13 Bionic processor is released with the iPhone 11 series, manufactured using TSMC's second-generation 7nm N7P process, containing 8.5 billion transistors.
CPU— Self-developed "2+4" architecture (based on ARMv8.4-A instruction set) : The main frequency of the two Lightning large cores is 2.66Ghz, the speed is increased by 20%, and the power consumption is reduced by 30%; the main frequency of the four Thunder small cores remains unchanged but the power consumption is reduced by 40%.
Self-developed GPU: still has four cores, but the speed is increased by 20%, and the power consumption is reduced by 40%.
1, A14 Bionic
A14 is mainly an improvement in process technology
A14 Bionic processor was released with iPad Air4 in September 2020. is based on TSMC's 5nm process technology, contains 11.8 billion transistors. neural network engine core has been increased to 16!
CPU— Self-developed "2+4" architecture (based on the ARMv8.5-A instruction set): The main frequency of two Firestorm large cores is increased to 3.1Ghz, and the main frequency of four Icestorm small cores is increased to 1.8Ghz. This time, the performance improvement is officially compared with A12, claiming to be 40% faster.
Self-developed GPU: still has four cores, but the speed is 30% faster than A12.
2, A15 Bionic processor
full-blood version A15 is a 5-core self-developed GPU
September 14, 2021 A15 Bionic processor is released with the iPhone 13 series. Based on TSMC's 5nm manufacturing process, it has 15 billion transistors.
CPU— Self-developed "2+4" architecture (based on the ARMv8.5-A instruction set): Two Avalanche large core main frequency has been increased to 3.24Ghz, and four Blizzard small core main frequency has been increased to 2.02Ghz. This time, the official compares the performance improvement with the chips of the competitors, but it doesn’t compare with its own (companies complain, Apple, you bully people, remember that we are in the Android camp and don’t compare randomly).
self-developed GPU: full-blooded version has five cores, and castrated version has four cores.
3, A16 Bionic
A16 mainly refers to the little progress in the process process
The latest A15 Bionic processor was released in September 2022 with the iPhone14 series, based on TSMC's 4nm process technology. It has 16 billion transistors.
CPU— Self-developed "2+4" architecture (based on the latest ARMv9-A instruction set): The two Everest large core main frequency has been increased to 3.46Ghz, and the four Sawtooth small core main frequency has not changed. The performance improvement of this generation is less than 20%.
Self-developed GPU: is still five cores. Although the core frequency has been improved, the performance improvement is limited.
Apple now focuses on the stacking of materials on the computer chip
ending: It can be seen that in the past 13 years of development, the performance of Apple processors has improved very rapidly at the beginning; however, with the evolution of the process and the increasing number of transistors, the increase of Apple's mobile phone chips has become smaller and smaller. After all, the "2+4" self-developed architecture of large and small cores has been used for six generations, and the improvement of process technology is becoming increasingly limited.
It is estimated that Apple aims at the direction of stacking materials on the computer's self-developed chip. The mobile phone is not in a hurry. After all, in terms of performance, it still exceeds the same competitive companies in the same era (the flagship chips of the competitors on the current mobile CPU ladder diagram are only at the same height as the A14).
