At this year's iPhone 14 series launch conference, Apple did not spend much money on the A16 chip. According to subsequent actual tests, we can know that the overall performance of A16 is less than 20% higher than that of A15.

At this year's iPhone 14 series launch conference, Apple did not spend much money on the A16 chip. According to subsequent actual tests, we can know that the overall performance of A16 is less than 20% higher than that of A15.

Some people may say that Apple has become so shameless that not only A16 squeezes toothpaste, but A15 is also a model that has been used for two years. Some people also say that Moore's Law has expired, and the subsequent SOC upgrade will only become smaller and smaller.

However, when we look back at this time, we will find that in the past decade since Apple started making customized chips, Apple has been able to improve CPU performance by 100 times and GPU performance by 1000 times.

In the initial iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G, they are equipped with Samsung S5L8900【90nm】, single-core 412MHz, and GPU is PowerVR MBX Lite.

When it comes to iPhone 3GS, the S with the 3GS suffix also represents speed (speed). The processor is upgraded to Samsung S5PC100 [65nm], the running frequency is increased to 600Mhz, and the GPU is PowerVR SGX535. On this mobile phone, we can already smoothly play mobile games such as Endless Sword, Modern Warfare 2, etc.

The reason why Samsung mentioned earlier is because in the era of iPhone 4, Apple modified its own A4 chip based on Samsung's S5PC100, which is also the first SOC designed by Apple. Of course, some people say that the processor was customized by Apple for Samsung, but it was labeled as Apple's own design. However, the truth or not is no longer that important today.

A4 has iPhone4 and iPod Touch, and 1Ghz on iPad. It is worth mentioning that A4, which uses the Cortex-A8 core, values ​​power efficiency management and deletes modules that are not needed for iPad and iPhone. Since L2 has been upgraded to 640K, the GPU has been upgraded to PowerVRSGX540, which can theoretically handle 35 million polygons and 500 million pixels per second, so you can even use it to run Asphalt 8 smoothly.

To 2011 A5, the CPU and GPU were upgraded to dual-core, and there are three versions, 45nm is used for mobile phones, the improved process version of 32nm is used for iPod and iPad, and there is also a shielded core board for apple TV, so from here, we can also find the historical origins of different physiques used in different models.

A5 Compared with A4, the CPU performance is improved by 2 times and the GPU is increased by 9 times. Although iPhone4 and 4S look similar, when the two run the frosted glass special effects added to iOS7, it is completely a world-wide experience. The 4S equipped with A5 is due to its powerful processor performance, and therefore the system version is updated to iOS9.

is right. Compared with the working frequency of A4, the working frequency is fixed at 800 MHz. A5 can adapt to the working frequency according to the different running programs.

012, Apple A6 was released with the iPhone 5, which is Apple's first non-standard ARM architecture processor. The A6 adopts Samsung's 32nm process. Compared with the A5, its power consumption is reduced by 22%, its speed and GPU performance are improved by 2 times, and its photography speed is also improved by 40%.

A6 uses ARMv7's dual-core CPU, called Swift, and this name was later used by Apple in the new programming language launched in 2014. It is worth mentioning that A6 generation processors have begun to have a certain degree of leadership. It is from this generation that A6 processors have embarked on a different path from Android's high-frequency multi-core, but are low-frequency and large-core strategies.

A7 processor released by iPhone 5S is made based on the 28nm process and integrates more than 1 billion transistors . At the press conference, Apple officially released a picture with a 40-fold increase in CPU performance compared to the first generation.

Since this generation, the gap between Android and Apple has become increasingly large because Android manufacturers at that time happened to meet the Fire Dragon 810, and in other aspects, A7 is also a milestone. It is the first 64-bit architecture processor based on ARMV8 architecture, the first 64-bit architecture processor for smartphones and tablets, and it has been added to the M7 sports assistance processor for the first time, and the GPU supports Apple's newly developed metal game image engine.

Maybe because the toothpaste of A7 is squeezed too hard, it seems much more ordinary here when it comes to A8. Compared with the A7, it has 25% better CPU performance and 50% better GPU.

However, it should be noted that the resolutions of iPhone 6 and 6Plus on A8 have also been upgraded, so although the GPU is 50% improved, this more performance overhead is also consumed. In addition, there is also a 1G storage pot. Therefore, the iPhone6 series of A8 is the same as the iPhone5S of A7. The system update only supports iOS12.

In 2015, the A9 processor is here, and everyone stands up!

This generation of processors uses Samsung 14nm and TSMC 16nm dual processes. A9 is also the last CPU that Apple signed a contract with Samsung to manufacture. Since then, all A-series chips have been handed over to TSMC for manufacturing.

Of course, these are not the key points. As the Apple A-series chip with the largest improvement in history, compared with A8, the CPU performance has been improved by 70% and the GPU has been improved by 90%.

also runs GFX Manhattan 3.0, and 6S can reach 41 frames, while iPhone 6 only has 20 frames. Until 2022, you can still run Honor of Kings smoothly with 60 frames with 6S or SE. The system version has been even stronger than iOS15, and it is currently the processor that has been the longest-lasting system update and is a famous nail user. A10 Fusion on

iPhone7 is actually a milestone. As Apple's first processor that uses 2 large + 2 small four-core architecture for the first time, its design concept has been used to this day. TSMC has also introduced new InFO packaging technology for the first time on this processor, which is also a major reason why TSMC can monopolize Apple chip foundry. However, it may also be because Apple is playing this quad-core architecture for the first time, and its power consumption and heating control are not ideal, so even if its performance improvement is not small (CPU is increased by 40%, GPU is increased by 50%), it is actually difficult for you to perfectly perform its full performance.

And to the A11 processor, it can be said that it has brought another new concept - bionic chip.

is the first SOC under Apple that uses a 6-core architecture. It uses a new 10nm process. The CPU multi-core performance has been improved by astonishingly, 75%, but the single-core performance has only increased by 20%, setting a historical lowest at that time.

It is worth mentioning that after Apple dug up many senior executives of Imagination, it finally adopted its own GPU architecture on the A11 for the first time, but as the first self-developed GPU, its performance has been a little disappointing. There are also reports that Apple has started designing the M-series chips since this period. In this year, iOS11 also completely eliminated 32-bit processors and entered the 64-bit era.

A12 The XS and XR equipped with processor are also called the new generation of magic machines by many users. A12 is built on TSMC's 7nm process. CPU is still a design of 2 large cores + 4 small cores. Its main frequency of large cores is 2.49GHz and small cores is 1.59GHz. The performance is up to 15% higher than that of A11 Bionic, and the power consumption of small cores is reduced by up to 50%. The CPU improvement is actually relatively limited, but the quad-core GPU is 50% faster than the A11.

GPU GFX Manhattan 3.0 can run to 148 frames, 61% higher than the previous generation. In fact, the power consumption of A12 is still a bit high, but due to the benefits of TSMC's 7nm, it is much better than that of A10 and A11 in terms of practicality.

A13, another immortal processor, is still brought up by Apple at the press conference: its competitors are still catching up with our A13.

A13 is manufactured using TSMC's second-generation 7nm N7P process and contains 8.5 billion transistors. Two high-performance cores are 20% faster than the Apple A12, with 30% less power consumption, and four high-efficiency cores are 20% faster than the A12, with 40% less power consumption. The reason why the power consumption of

A13 is controlled so well is that on the one hand, Apple uses thousands of clock gates and hundreds of voltage domains on it, thereby better controlling the use of the power supply. According to data from the Geek Bay SOC ladder list, A13 also ranks third in energy consumption ratio of 107.7 points.

Accompanied by A14 Bionic released by iPhone 12, it is the first commercial 5nm chip. It contains 11.8 billion transistors, equipped with a 6-core CPU, a 4-core GPU with real-time machine learning capabilities, and a 16-core AI processor, which can perform 11 trillion operations per second. In the running score in Geekbench5, a single core can reach more than 1500.

In other words, if Android wants to catch up, it is afraid it will have to wait for the Cortex X3 core. . .

However, since the previous generation A13 was already very strong, Apple was treacherous and dissatisfied with A13 at the press conference, but compared with A12 from the previous generation. The official said that compared with A12, the CPU speed is 40% faster and the GPU speed is 30% faster.

To a processor that uses at least two generations of Apple A15, the number of transistors has reached 15 billion, and Geekbench5 single core can run to more than 1,700 points. The 4 cores that have been used for 3 years have finally been upgraded to 5 cores. However, 5 cores are only equipped with Pro in the 13 series, and the standard version still uses 4 cores.

Maybe because this processor is too strong, the official slogan simply uses a simple and crude slogan like "very strong".

However, it is not as strong as it is. A15 still won the title of the processor with the smallest improvement last year. But to be honest, it is also from the recent generations of A-series chips that Apple pays more attention to energy consumption ratio, and the optimization of the energy consumption ratio of A15 is immediate. After all, running scores are running scores. Only reasonable power consumption control can bring users a more lasting and good experience. I believe that fox friends who are using the A15 processor should empathize.

However, although A15 won the title of processor with the least gain, it was snatched by A16 after only one year. The article is back to our beginning - the overall performance of A16 is less than 20% higher than that of A15.

According to the perspective view of A16 released by TechInsights, the GPU comparison A15 has almost not changed at all, just like copying homework. Some people even say that A16 is the A15 that improves the main frequency. As for the performance improvement of up to 28%, it may also be credited to the LPDDR5 memory.

However, although the A16 has limited improvement, the production cost is 2.4 times that of A15. The cost price of the A15 chip is around US$45 (about RMB 321), while the cost price of the A16 chip is close to US$110 (about RMB 780), which really makes people wonder where the A16 money is spent.

Due to space limitations, each generation of Apple A-series processors actually have many details that have not been discussed, and we have not mentioned the processors on iPad. If you have the chance in the future, let’s talk more comprehensively.

In general, since Apple acquired P.A.Semi for US$278 million in 2008, Apple has already had the determination to develop its own processor at least more than ten years ago, with the subsequent acquisition of multiple companies involving CPU design, GPU image processing and other companies.

This year, Apple A series has become the strongest SOC on the mobile terminal, and gradually uses ARM architecture processors on the computer. The efforts and investment of its R&D personnel are unimaginable. It is these advanced planning and layout and the accumulated experience of each generation that have achieved many achievements in Apple's self-developed chips today.

reference:

Quick Technology: Apple A16 chip perspective out: GPU is simply copied A15

zhihu: How to evaluate Apple's processors in history?

Baidu Encyclopedia: Apple A-series chip

Semiconductor industry observation: Apple A-series chips, isn’t it glorious anymore?

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edit: Huizai