Apple A6
{{Short description|System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.}}
{{Infobox CPU
| name = Apple A6
| image = Apple A6 Chip.jpg
| image_size = frameless{{!}}upright=1.25
| caption = The A6 processor
| produced-start = September 21, 2012
| produced-end = September 9, 2015 (February 17, 2016 India){{cite news|url=https://www.bgr.in/news/apple-iphone-4s-iphone-5c-finally-discontinued-in-india-report-392408/|title=Apple iPhone 4s, iPhone 5c finally discontinued in India: Report|first=Sambit|last=Satpathy|publisher=BGR.in|date=February 17, 2016|access-date=December 7, 2020|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211171736/https://www.bgr.in/news/apple-iphone-4s-iphone-5c-finally-discontinued-in-india-report-392408/|url-status=live}}
| fastest =
| slow-unit =
| fast-unit =
| size-to =
| soldby =
| designfirm = Apple Inc.
| manuf1 = Samsung
| arch= ARMv7-A: ARM, Thumb-2 with "armv7s" extensions (integer division, VFPv4, Advanced SIMDv2){{cite web |title=A few things iOS developers ought to know about the ARM architecture – Wandering Coder |url=http://wanderingcoder.net/2010/07/19/ought-arm/ |access-date=2020-07-03 |archive-date=2020-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704000617/http://wanderingcoder.net/2010/07/19/ought-arm/ |url-status=live }}
| code = S5L8950X
| l1cache = 32 KB instruction + 32 KB data
| l3cache =
| gpu = PowerVR SGX543MP3 (triple-core)
| application = Mobile
| predecessor = Apple A5 (iPhone)
Apple A5X (iPad)
| successor = Apple A7
| variant = Apple A6X
}}
The Apple A6 is a 32-bit package on package (PoP) system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. It 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.{{cite press release|title=Apple Introduces iPhone 5|date=2012-09-12|url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2012/09/12Apple-Introduces-iPhone-5/|publisher=Apple|access-date=2023-12-10}} 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.
Design
The Apple A6 is said to use a 1.3 GHz{{citation|title=Apple's A6 CPU actually clocked at around 1.3 GHz, per new Geekbench report|date=2012-09-26|url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/apple-a6-cpu-13ghz-geekbench-confirmed-overclocking//|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130831090541/http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/apple-a6-cpu-13ghz-geekbench-confirmed-overclocking/|publisher=Engadget|access-date=2012-09-26|archive-date=2013-08-31|url-status=live}} custom{{citation |author=Anand Lal Shimpi |title=iPhone 5's A6 SoC: Not A15 or A9, a Custom Apple Core Instead |publisher=AnandTech |date=2012-09-15 |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6292/iphone-5-a6-not-a15-custom-core |access-date=2012-09-18 |archive-date=2012-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221083735/http://www.anandtech.com/show/6292/iphone-5-a6-not-a15-custom-core |url-status=live }} Apple-designed ARMv7-A architecture based dual-core CPU, called Swift,{{cite web |first1=Anand |last1=Lal Shimpi |first2=Brian |last2=Klug |first3=Vivek |last3=Gowri |title=The iPhone 5 Review - Decoding Swift |publisher=AnandTech |date=2012-10-16 |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6330/the-iphone-5-review/5 |access-date=2012-10-17 |archive-date=2012-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121208063327/http://www.anandtech.com/show/6330/the-iphone-5-review/5 |url-status=live }} rather than a licensed CPU from ARM like in previous designs, and an integrated 266 MHz triple-core PowerVR SGX543MP3{{citation |title=Apple A6 Die Revealed: 3-core GPU, <100mm^2 |publisher=Anandtech.com |date=2012-09-21 |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6323/apple-a6-die-revealed-3core-gpu-100mm2 |access-date=2012-09-22 |archive-date=2012-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922115308/http://www.anandtech.com/show/6323/apple-a6-die-revealed-3core-gpu-100mm2 |url-status=live }} graphics processing unit (GPU). The Swift core in the A6 uses a new tweaked instruction set featuring some elements of the ARM Cortex-A15 such as support for the Advanced SIMD v2, and VFPv4. Analysis suggests that the Swift core has a triple-wide frontend and two FPUs, compared with a two-wide core with a single FPU in the Cortex-A9 based predecessor.
The A6 processor package also incorporates 1 GB of LPDDR2-1066 RAM compared with 512MB of LPDDR2-800 RAM in the Apple A5 providing double the memory capacity while increasing the theoretical memory bandwidth from 6.4 GB/s to 8.5 GB/s.{{cite news |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6297/iphone-5-memory-size-and-speed-revealed-1gb-lpddr21066 |title=iPhone 5 Memory Size and Speed Revealed: 1 GB LPDDR2-1066 |last1=Shimpi |first1=Anand Lal |author-link1=Anand Lal Shimpi |last2=Klug |first2=Brian |date=September 15, 2012 |publisher=AnandTech |access-date=September 16, 2012 |archive-date=December 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217202621/http://www.anandtech.com/show/6297/iphone-5-memory-size-and-speed-revealed-1gb-lpddr21066 |url-status=live }} The A6 includes an upgraded image signal processor (ISP), that compared with the ISP in the A5, improves the speed of image capture, low-light performance, noise reduction, and video stabilization.{{cite web |first=Sean |last=Hollister |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/9/12/3321108/apple-a6-new-iphone-soc-cpu-processor |title=The Apple A6: a smaller processor for the iPhone 5 with twice the performance |publisher=The Verge |date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=September 13, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054954/http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/12/3321108/apple-a6-new-iphone-soc-cpu-processor |url-status=live }}
The A6 is manufactured by Samsung on a high-κ metal gate (HKMG) 32 nm process and the chip is 96.71 mm2 large,{{cite web |title=Apple iPhone 5 – the A6 Application Processor |publisher=Chipworks |date=September 21, 2012 |url=http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/blog/apple-iphone-5-the-a6-application-processor/ |access-date=September 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922151159/http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/blog/apple-iphone-5-the-a6-application-processor/ |archive-date=September 22, 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{citation |url=http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple-A6-Teardown/10528/ |title=Apple A6 Teardown |publisher=ifixit.com |date=2012-09-25 |access-date=2012-09-25 |archive-date=2015-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223140342/https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple-A6-Teardown/10528/ |url-status=live }} which is 22% smaller than the A5.{{citation |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-processor/ |title=Apple: A6 chip in iPhone 5 has 2x CPU power, 2x graphics performance, yet consumes less energy |publisher=Engadget |date=2012-09-12 |access-date=2012-09-18 |archive-date=2013-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914003252/http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-processor/ |url-status=live }} The A6 also consumes less energy than its predecessor.
A version of the A6 with higher frequency and four graphic cores is called Apple A6X and is found only in the fourth generation iPad.
Products that include the Apple A6
Gallery
See also
- Apple silicon, the range of ARM-based processors designed by Apple
- Apple A6X
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References
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{{Succession box|title=Apple A6|years=2012|before=Apple A5|after=Apple A7 (APL0698 Variant)}}
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{{Apple Inc.}}
{{Apple silicon}}
{{Apple Inc. hardware}}
{{Application ARM-based chips}}
Category:Products introduced in 2012
Category:Products and services discontinued in 2017