Apple A4
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General information | |
---|---|
Launched | April 3, 2010 |
Discontinued | September 10, 2013 |
Designed by | Apple Inc. |
Common manufacturer | |
Product code | S5L8930X[1] |
Performance | |
Max. CPU clock rate | 800 MHz to 1 GHz |
Cache | |
L1 cache | 32 KB instruction + 32 KB data[2] |
L2 cache | 512 KB[2] |
Architecture and classification | |
Application | Mobile |
Technology node | 45 nm |
Microarchitecture | ARM Cortex-A8 |
Instruction set | ARMv7-A |
Physical specifications | |
Cores |
|
GPU | PowerVR SGX535[3] |
History | |
Predecessor | Samsung S5L8920 |
Successor | Apple A5 |
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.[4][5] 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.[6]
The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an A4 (iPhone 4) was iOS 7.1.2, which was released on June 30, 2014 as it was discontinued with the release of iOS 8 in September 2014. The last operating system update Apple provided for an Apple TV containing an A4 (second-generation Apple TV) was Apple TV Software 6.2.1, which was released on September 17, 2014.
Design
[edit]Apple engineers designed the A4 chip with an emphasis on being "extremely powerful yet extremely power efficient."[6] The A4 features a single-core ARM Cortex-A8 central processing unit (CPU) manufactured on Samsung's 45 nm fabrication process[7] using performance enhancements developed by chip designer Intrinsity (which was subsequently acquired by Apple)[8] in collaboration with Samsung.[9] The resulting CPU, dubbed "Hummingbird",[10] is able to run at a far higher clock rate than previous Cortex-A8 CPUs while remaining fully compatible with the Cortex-A8 design provided by ARM.[11] The same Cortex-A8 used in the A4 is also used in Samsung's S5PC110A01 SoC.[12][13] The A4 also features a single-core PowerVR SGX535 graphics processing unit (GPU).[14] The die of the A4 takes up 53.3 mm2 of area.[15]
The clock rate of the Cortex-A8 in the A4 used inside the first-generation iPad is 1 GHz. The clock rate of the Cortex-A8 in the A4 used inside the iPhone 4 and fourth-generation iPod Touch is 800 MHz (underclocked from 1 GHz). It is unknown what the clock rate of the Cortex-A8 in the A4 used inside the second-generation Apple TV is.
The A4 uses the PoP method of installation to support RAM. The top package of the A4 used inside the first-generation iPad, the fourth-generation iPod Touch, and the second-generation Apple TV contains two 128 MB LPDDR chips, providing a total of 256 MB of RAM.[16][17] The top package of the A4 used inside the iPhone 4 contains two 256 MB LPDDR chips, providing a total of 512 MB of RAM.[18][19][20] The RAM is connected to the A4 using ARM's 64 bits wide AMBA 3 AXI bus.[21]
Products featuring the Apple A4
[edit]Gallery
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/IPhone_4%2C_model_A1332_-_mainboard-7795.jpg/220px-IPhone_4%2C_model_A1332_-_mainboard-7795.jpg)
See also
[edit]- Apple silicon, the range of ARM-based SoCs designed by Apple.
- PWRficient, a series of microprocessors designed by P.A. Semi. Apple acquired P.A. Semi to form an in-house custom chip design department.
References
[edit]- ^ "iOS 5.1 code hints at simultaneous A5X and A6 processor development". 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
- ^ a b Cheng, Jacqui (March 14, 2011). "Ars reviews the iPad 2: big performance gains in a slimmer package / The Apple A5". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ^ Klug, Brian; Lal Shimpi, Anand (June 30, 2010). "Apple's iPhone 4: Thoroughly Reviewed". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
- ^ "Updated: Samsung fabs Apple A5 processor". EETimes.com. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
The company conducted a cross-section analysis of the chip that revealed details indicating Samsung made the chip in its 45nm process, the same process and fab Apple used for its previous generation A4 SoC.
- ^ Clark, Don (2010-04-05). "Apple iPad Taps Familiar Component Suppliers - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ a b "Apple Launches iPad" (Press release). Apple. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ "Chipworks Confirms Apple A4 iPad chip is fabbed by Samsung in their 45-nm process". Chipworks. April 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010.
- ^ Stokes, Jon (2010-04-28). "Apple purchase of Intrinsity confirmed". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ Merritt, Rick. "Samsung, Intrinsity pump ARM to GHz rate". EE Times. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "Samsung Jointly Develop the World's Fastest ARM® Cortex™-A8 Processor Based Mobile Core | Samsung Semiconductor Global Website". samsung.com (Press release). Archived from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ Keizer, Gregg (2010-04-06). "Apple's iPad Smokes Past the iPhone 3GS in Speed Test". PC World. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- ^ Boldt, Paul; Scansen, Don; Whibley, Tim (16 June 2010). "Apple's A4 dissected, discussed...and tantalizing". EE Times. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ^ "Microsoft PowerPoint - Apple A4 vs SEC S5PC110A01" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ Khullar, Kunal (2017-09-13). "From A4 to the A11 Bionic: The Evolution of Apple 'A' mobile chips". PCMag India. Archived from the original on 2020-07-26. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
- ^ "Chipworks Confirms Apple A4 iPad chip is fabbed by Samsung in their 45-nm process". Chipworks. April 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010.
The die was approximately 7.3 mm square, giving a die area of 53.3 mm2,
- ^ "Teardown of Apple's 4th-gen iPod touch finds 256MB of RAM". Appleinsider.com. 2010-09-08. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ "Apple TV 2nd Generation Teardown". iFixit. 2010-09-30. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ "Apple reveals iPhone 4 has 512MB RAM, doubling iPad - report". Appleinsider.com. 2010-06-17. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
- ^ "A Peek Inside Apple's A4 Processor". iFixit. 2010-04-05. Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ Greenberg, Marc (2010-04-09). "Apple iPad: no LPDDR2?". Denali. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ^ Merritt, Rick (2010-04-09). "iPad equipped to deliver richer graphics". EE Times Asia. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
External links
[edit]- MacWorld – Apple inside: the significance of the iPad's A4 chip
- CNET—Inside the iPad: Apple's new 'A4' chip Archived 2013-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
- HotHardware—iPad's Identity Crisis and Apple's A4 CPU Showstopper
- EETimes—Apple's A4 dissected
- Understanding iPad’s A4 Processor
- ARM Cortex-A series processors
- PowerVR GPU specifications pages Archived 2010-08-18 at the Wayback Machine