On Apple’s A7 Processor
There was a rumor today that the iPhone 5S will be powered by an A7 processor which is dual core, 64-bit and 31% faster than the subsystem in the current iPhone 5.
While people speculate on the innards of the chip, it’s a good time to take a step back and look at how Apple approaches hardware / software and internal System-on-Chip (SoC) development.
One of the biggest—if not the biggest—advantages Apple has in not being reliant on merchant silicon (they don’t buy standard application processors designed by others) is that they can customize the A7/A8 etc to exactly fit their own apps / services frameworks, without making generic design compromises.
To see this best, contrast Qualcomm, whose processors will fit in hundreds or thousands of different Android models to Apple, whose A7 will go in to the iPhone, iPad and possibly the iPod and iTV. Because Qualcomm must support so many potential vendor configurations, they are forced to design by the 80/20 rule. Meanwhile, Apple can strip out absolutely everything it doesn’t want on-chip, and add specific things it does, such as DSP or graphics capabilities which iOS is designed to use.
Will Apple remain with 2 cores in the A7 or go to 4, and more importantly, how do they decide?
Today there are three main requirements driving the trend to multicore architectures: low power, performance and system / memory bandwidth. But mobile platforms are not about raw performance, they are about performance per Watt of power consumption.
To use an analogy, a multi-core processor is like cooking a meal in separate pots on 4 different stovetop burners, instead of in 1 super-size pot on a large flame. Each pot cooks independently, which allows the chef to better manage ingredients and temperature—e.g. you can turn off a couple burners (save gas) or move pots around as you focus on different portions of the meal.
The tradeoff is software. You have to have a smart “chef”. The chip not only has to employ its own on-board intelligence to manage inter-processor communication between cores, but it also has to make compile and run time decisions on what parts of code are run on which processor. This results in a lot of software complexity. Standard software design techniques are not well suited to deal with these inherent complexities. In fact, it’s well known that software parallelism is the single biggest challenge to computing design today.
These design challenges effectively sit in the software architecture stack around app design, debugging, optimization and API design. Above the OS you need tightly coupled drivers and applications that can take advantage of the underlying hardware. Since increased “free” performance from the addition of more cores is offset by these software complexities, the company with the tightest integration across the stack wins the performance per Watt game.
For example, in Facebook’s iOS app, they use a main thread to drive UI and handle touch events, and another thread to manage other computationally expensive tasks in the background. The background thread handles things like network activity and JSON parsing, while not slowing down the main UI thread.
So basically different threads are being handled by different cores. Code certainly doesn’t just compile magically in all cases to take advantage of chip design on modular platforms like Android. The better that compilers and APIs are designed to fit the underlying OS and chip / driver stack, the easier it is for devs to extract highest performance per Watt. App developers like FB need to optimize the hell out of the code (they wrote a blog post on how they did for iOS). And they desperately want a platform that makes it easy to do so, like Apple’s.
Yes, we know Apple isn’t the best at services today and that Google, Spotify, Dropbox and others are eclipsing them here. But in terms of OS-level hardware / software design, Apple is definitely best in world. They can wield tremendous advantage by having their own chip and software teams collaborate – Apple pioneered parallel software efforts in GCD and OpenCL.
We’ll see in two weeks what the iPhone 5S and A7 processor bring, but whether the chip is dual or multicore, 32-bit or 64, you can bet Apple has it all tightly woven together. Developers simply love Apple’s tools. These advantages, along with service-layer issues brought on by Android fragmentation, may easily be enough to keep Apple ahead into the next generation of the mobile platforms war.
this chip, that chip- if the screen’s still too tiny, no way
The A7 or whatever chip Apple will implement the 64 bit onto will also be used in the iPads.
who cares about the iPad, it’s already falling off the cliff
You exhibit the trait of all android zealots, you complain about one thing– typically BS or false– and when called on it, you change and pretend you were talking about something else.
You want a bigger screen, get a mini.
As for “falling off the cliff”… iOS far outsells android devices.
Apple reports actual sales every quarter, samsung and android makers do not… because their sales are pathetic. (When samsung was forced to reveal their sales in a lawsuit, they were abysmal.)
But you mindless android zealots run around screaming that android is winning.. you don’t care what the facts are.
Androids far outsells iOS devices. Even the iPad mini, is too big to be mobile, iPhone screen is too tiny
the fact is, androids far outsells iOS devices. Even the iPad mini, is too big to be mobile, and the iPhone screen is too small
Then don’t buy one…..see how simple that is?
For you maybe but not for the market. Android which means all sorts of things, outs less iOS in the world market but not in the U.S. Owning an android phone does not require you to also be ignorant and say things you would like to believe instead of reality. Run along now.
Actually the FACT is that the iPhone is the best selling phone in the world. It outsells all other smartphones — by model. To compare Android to iOS is truly comparing Apples to Oranges. Anyone can create a truly undifferentiated POS running Android and you’ll count that too as long as you don’t have to actually use it. That’s really not the market that Apple’s iOS is competing in. So compare the iPhone to any other phone model. Compare the iPad to any other tablet model. Oh, you can’t do that…
Hah. You are ignorant,
Nice post. AAPL’s move to proprietary chips for mobile in ’07? looks to be a brilliant initiative. The opposite strategy, transitioning to Intel for macs in ’06 -’07 was just as smart.
Thanks. Yes, both of those chip transitions were incredibly well timed and expensive bets, which really paid off.
Great post. I wonder if Apple will bring their customized processors back to the Mac and eventually drop Intel?
Thanks. I wrote a post several years ago on Techcrunch about this. It’s old but some of it still applies and I’m sure Apple reevaluates whether to do so regularly – http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/30/the-sexy-details-of-how-the-ipad-and-macbook-air-will-hook-up/
I doubt A7 will be 64 bit. It might be a little early for that. Plus they’ve “just” made Swift on ARMv7, and these chips usually last 2 years as a generation. Apple doesn’t even change the design of their phones every year, and you expect them to overhaul the whole chip after only a year? Seems pretty unlikely.
The most likely thing to happen is they will overclock Swift (it already had a very low 1.2 Ghz clock speed) – and maybe they will go with 4 cores too – but it’s also pretty unlikely.
On the GPU side I expect them to go with PowerVR G6400 since it supports having either 2 “cores” or 4 cores, so they will go with 2 for the iPhone and 4 for the new iPad 5.
The new iPad Mini might have the same chip as the new iPhone, especially if they make it retina display, otherwise the GPU will be too weak, if they use an older one (except for the A6X – which could also be the “likely” one, since it will be cheaper for them to use).
“These advantages, along with service-layer issuesbrought on my Android fragmentation, may easily be enough to keep Apple ahead”
“brought on my” brought on by?
Thanks – typo – fixed. Now going to delete the comment chain 🙂
[…] stevecheney 相关： iPhone 5S将比iPhone 5快31% 买前必看！iPhone 5S […]
thanks steve
thank you, howard 🙂
[…] stevecheney 相关： iPhone 5S将比iPhone 5快31% 买前必看！iPhone 5S […]
[…] http://stevecheney.com/on-apples-a7-processor/ […]
[…] department, because Apple makes it easy for developers to take full advantage of its hardware. As Steve Cheney points out, the number of cores isn’t as important as how the software deals with them. (I like […]
Apple A-processors thus far were basically Apple-branded Exynos processors all based on ARM11, Cortex-A8 and Cortex-A9, all made and designed by Samsung for Apple. Only the last A6 was somewhat customized, basically combining some of ARM Cortex-A15 and A9 fwaturea because big.LITTLE using ARM Cortex-A15/A7 was not yet ready for iPhone5 and latest iPad. It may be Apple wants part of ARMv8 and big.LITTLE for their next. Again Samsung is doing the work.
The A6 contained an Apple designed processor, called Swift. It had similar properties to A15, as can be seen from benchmark results, but it was not A15 based; it was an Apple design from the the ground up. Certainly Apple gained a time-to-market advantage from using Swift as compared to A15 (just as Qualcomm have with Krait v. A15).
You wish. Apple didn’t design anything special, they took what they liked from A15 and combined with what was available of A9, does not make it an “Apple design from the the ground up”, that’s just ridiculous. There is no time to market advantage, full big.LITTLE on A15 was not yet ready, so of course anyone making Smartphone chips had to wait before going full A15, it is the same game Qualcomm does for years, you quite simply cannot claim A6 to have A15 performance, just as you cannot claim A7 to have ARMv8 performance.
I think it’s something special to design a custom state-of-the-art ARM V7A processor and get it into volume production before anyone using an ARM A15 manages to get to market.
AnandTech [http://www.anandtech.com/show/6292/iphone-5-a6-not-a15-custom-core] explains that you either licence an ARM core (e.g. A15) or you do a custom core based on an architecture licence. Swift is a custom core. I’m not aware of ARM offering a licence which lets you mash up two of their cores (“they took what they liked from A15 and combined with what was available of A9”)
Why do you claim that Swift being “an Apple design from the ground up is ridiculous”?
I also don’t understand why you think A6 doesn’t have A15 like performance? The benchmarks show that it pretty similar – clock for clock, and they show the iPhone 5 and the matching version of the iPad are up there with products made from competitive processors.
The time-to-market advantage is evident; iPhone 5 was on the market, and shipping in high-volume, before any A15 based product was shipping. And Qualcomm’s Krait shipped even earlier. We’re also seeing A7 shipping before any ARM A57 or A53 based product ships (unless someone is stealthily shipping already). [The Wikipedia article on Krait http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krait_(CPU) links to sites with shipping dates if you want to check these claims].
Finally, I don’t understand your comment “just as you cannot claim A7 to have ARMv8 performance”. I’ve not claimed anything about A7 performance and ARMv8 has no “performance”, it is an ISA (instruction set architecture) not a processor implementation. A7 is an ARMv8 processor; Apple have said this.
A15 big.LITTLE is superior to A6, A57/A53 is superior to A7. It’s just wrong to suggest A6 has same performance as A15/A7 big.LITTLE and it’s wrong to suggest A7 has same performance as upcoming A57/A53 big.LITTLE. Buying a custom architecture licence is way more expensive per device than licencing the ARM core and just because ARM cores have specific time to market goals, releasing something half-baked in advance does not make your solution better than waiting for the real thing. Apple is in a hurry because nobody wants to buy their iPhones and iPads anymore (nobody meaning not near enough to keep stock price at value they’d like), and the Macbook prospects are way worse (ergo the need to rush for ARMv8 for the ARM Macbook), so it’s obvious that Apple needs to release now with whatever they can get, thus they released some A15 features before those were really ready and they release some ARMv8 features before those are really ready. This does not make “Apple a designer of cores from the the ground up”. Firstly, it’s mostly Samsung doing most of this custom design work for Apple, without Samsung, Apple would have no iPhones/iPads on the market today. Secondly, if it wasn’t thanks to the existence of ARM processor designs, Apple would barely be 1/100th its current market value.
I didn’t realise I was getting involved in a religious argument – my apologies if I’ve caused offence.
Wow. Not sure what you are so angry about…
“Apple is in a hurry because nobody wants to buy their iPhones and iPads anymore”
“so it’s obvious that Apple needs to release now with whatever they can get”
“Firstly, it’s mostly Samsung doing most of this custom design work for Apple, without Samsung, Apple would have no iPhones/iPads on the market today.”
Yes it is SO obvious. Apple is doomed. What is obvious is you have some sort of religious issue with Apple…
Do you have some kind of inside knowledge as to what Samsung designs for Apple? Do you work for Samsung? What do you think was Apple’s reasoning when they bought P.A. Semi 5 years ago? Do you think they lied when the A5 came out (the 1st ARM architecture based chip that they designed in house) and they said they designed it in house?
Not sure what/why you have a bone to pick here. Apple designs its chips in house so as it can better connect the hardware and software. ANY AND ALL reviews of the iOS devices point out their increased performance vis-a-vie clock speed/cores/OS vs others. What I mean by that is that dual core Apple chips often at lower clock speeds have consistently matched or outscored quad core similar chips from Qualcomm/TI/Samsung when assessed through the full layer of hardware they run in and the software stack that runs on them. That’s the point being made in this article.
[…] Quite the most interesting point made about the new chip capabilities was this: […]
[…] what that could mean in practice is something technologist Steve Cheney has been theorizing on, with suggestions that Apple will continue to buck the smartphone trend by […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] department, because Apple makes it easy for developers to take full advantage of its hardware. As Steve Cheney points out, the number of cores isn’t as important as how the software deals with them. (I like Cheney’s […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] opening department, since Apple creates it easy for developers to take full value of a hardware. As Steve Cheney points out, a series of cores isn’t as critical as how a program deals with them. (I similar to Cheney’s […]
[…] Quite the most interesting point made about the new chip capabilities was this: […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] author is a technology writer Steve Cheney. This article attempts to analysis the determinants of software and hardware from the aspect […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] stevecheney 相关： iPhone 5S将比iPhone 5快31% 买前必看！iPhone 5S […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] Via: stevecheney leiPhone […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] main advantage is that Apple can optimize the A7 for its own set of APIs, making it feel faster than it actually is. Even though Snapdragons […]
[…] On Apple's A7 Processor | steve cheney – technology, business … Go to this article […]
Read
[…]Pick up additional information right here[…]
Fantastic post Steve, I like the analogies you used.
quality links
xjlgkiqyu qqeth fxhtxat zklg utcbfxtvsycwctg
[…] More: http://stevecheney.com/on-apples-a7-processor/ […]
I think the upcoming A7 chips will be a quadcore, accompanied by 2gb ram n_n ( i wish )
Inbound links
Web pages of fascination we have now a backlink to
Salvador Cochrum
we arrived throughout a cool web page which you could require enjoyment in. Get a search any time you want
Internet sites it is advisable to head over to
beneath you are going to discover the url to some online websites that we think you ought to go to
Fantastic online site
enough time to read through or check out the articles or internet sites we have connected to under the
Visitor suggestions
considered one of our prospects recently advocated the subsequent web page
Wonderful web sites
we arrived across a interesting webpage which you could possibly take pleasure in. Consider a look if you want
Cambridgeshire wedding photographer
amongst our site visitors a brief whilst back advisable the subsequent blog
Cambridgeshire wedding ceremony photographer
one in all our people a brief when ago encouraged the subsequent web page
Excellent web site
the time to study or take a look at the material or online websites we now have associated with underneath the
Wonderful web site
the time to look at or pay a visit to the material or webpages we’ve got related to beneath the
Webpages price going to
here are a few backlinks to sites that we hyperlink to considering the fact that we think that these are price traveling to
Blogs ou ought to be browsing
Listed here is usually a captivating Blog page You would Acquire helpful that we Encourage You to look at
On the web Document
The data mentioned during the piece of writing are some of the best around
Weblogs ou should really be reading
Listed here can be described as Outstanding Blogging site You may Discover Exciting that we Really encourage You
Global Website traffic Machine evaluate
make sure you explore the web webpages we follow, similar to this a single specified, as it signifies our picks from the online
Examine was intriguing, continue to be in touch
make sure you explore the web pages we go along with, together with this one particular, given it represents our picks through the internet
Brilliant blog
The info pointed out in the submit undoubtedly are a number of of your especially best readily available
Study was remarkable, keep in touch
please explore the webpages we follow, like this one, given it represents our picks through the online
Cambridgeshire wedding ceremony photographer
an example of our website visitors a brief at the same time back suggested the subsequent web pages
Blogs ou may want to be reading
The following really is a captivating Website You can actually Locate invaluable that we Really encourage You to observe
Gems from the internet
quite couple internet sites that transpire for being precise beneath, from our standpoint are certainly very well value trying out
Fascinating web-sites
we arrived across a fascinating internet site that you simply may appreciate. Acquire a glance if you would like
Examine was intriguing, continue to be in touch
make sure you explore the web pages we go along with, together with this one particular, given it represents our picks through the internet
Recommeneded online websites
Below are some of your sites we highly recommend for our people
Webpages we Like
Each and every when in a whilst we select blogs that we read. Outlined under are classified as the hottest internet sites that we decide upon
Web-sites really worth browsing
the following are a few one way links to webpages that we url to mainly because we believe that there’re value visiting
Resources
examine beneath, are a few entirely unrelated websites to ours, on the other hand, they may be most reputable sources that we use
Check out was intriguing, remain in touch
please stop by the sites we carry out, among them this an individual, due to the fact it represents our picks in the web
Web-sites really worth browsing
the following are a few one way links to webpages that we url to mainly because we believe that there’re value visiting
Swiftest tactic to burn up stomach unwanted fat fast
Every once within a whenever we decide for blogs that we read through. Outlined underneath are the most present-day web pages that we decide for
Sources
examine underneath, are a few totally unrelated web pages to ours, yet, they are simply most reputable sources that we use
Go through was engaging, remain in touch
please go to the sites we comply with, which include this 1, because it signifies our picks within the world-wide-web
yeah apple is a hell of a company i have a macbook and i can say that is faster then all other laptops because of their processors Cookie Clicker Achievements
We should respect all girls and women and should know manner how to talk to them and what questions to ask a girl for better conversation with your friend or girlfriend
all working and updated Pokemon Sun and Moon QR Codes
please check if you want to improve your health and self being please check self improvement for your personal development
very nice post i have used apple for many long time and my mobile devices and macbook has never stucked i used to search https://kikusernameslist.com/ and it worked fine for me
very nice post and detail work done by the article and it shows how good you are in writing good stuff i also bought apple macbook pro 2017 model and it is very fast i loved to work on it you can visit here and see the specs of latest macbook pro
very nice post if you love wrestling you can go and watch here at https://watchwrestling.watch and watch free online
very nice post and detail work done by the article and it shows how good you are in writing good stuff please check buyfbpagelikes and check my work