Apple A4 Explained

Apple A4
Produced-Start:April 3, 2010
Produced-End:September 10, 2013
Slowest:800
Slow-Unit:MHz
Fastest:1
Successor:Apple A5
Predecessor:Samsung S5L8920
Size-From:45 nm
Designfirm:Apple Inc.
Manuf1:Samsung Electronics
Arch:ARMv7-A
Microarch:ARM Cortex-A8
Code:S5L8930X[1]
Numcores:1
L1cache:32 KB instruction + 32 KB data[2]
L2cache:512 KB
Gpu:PowerVR SGX535[3]
Application:Mobile
Fast-Unit:GHz

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

Apple engineers designed the A4 chip with an emphasis on being "extremely powerful yet extremely power efficient." 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

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: iOS 5.1 code hints at simultaneous A5X and A6 processor development . 27 February 2012 . 2017-06-14 . 2012-05-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120502123635/http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/02/ios-51-code-hints-at-simultaneous-a5x-and-a6-processor-development.ars . live .
  2. Web site: Jacqui . Cheng . Ars reviews the iPad 2: big performance gains in a slimmer package / The Apple A5 . . March 14, 2011 . July 13, 2011 . June 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110615020503/http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/03/ipad-2-the-ars-review.ars/3 . live .
  3. Web site: Brian . Klug . Anand . Lal Shimpi . Apple's iPhone 4: Thoroughly Reviewed . AnandTech . June 30, 2010 . September 20, 2013 . September 21, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130921082951/http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review . live .
  4. Web site: Updated: Samsung fabs Apple A5 processor. March 12, 2011. EETimes.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509081929/http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4213981/Samsung-fabs-Apple-A5-processor. 2013-05-09. 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..
  5. Web site: Clark . Don . Apple iPad Taps Familiar Component Suppliers - WSJ.com . Online.wsj.com . 2010-04-05 . 2010-04-15 . 2018-09-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180919123015/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303912104575164112770784290?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular . live .
  6. Apple Launches iPad . . 2010-01-27 . 2010-01-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100130164228/http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/27ipad.html . 30 January 2010 . live .
  7. Web site: Chipworks Confirms Apple A4 iPad chip is fabbed by Samsung in their 45-nm process. April 15, 2010. Chipworks. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100921083904/http://chipworks.com/A4_is_Samsung_45nm.aspx. 21 September 2010.
  8. Web site: Apple purchase of Intrinsity confirmed. Stokes. Jon. 2010-04-28. Ars Technica. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100428102017/http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/04/apple-purchase-of-intrinsity-confirmed.ars. 28 April 2010. 2010-04-28.
  9. Web site: Samsung, Intrinsity pump ARM to GHz rate. Merritt. Rick. EE Times. 2023-04-13.
  10. Samsung Jointly Develop the World's Fastest ARM® Cortex™-A8 Processor Based Mobile Core Samsung Semiconductor Global Website. samsung.com. en. 2019-05-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20190531031843/https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/insights/news-events/samsung-and-intrinsity-jointly-develop-the-worlds-fastest-arm-cortex-a8-processor-based-mobile/. 2019-05-31. dead.
  11. Web site: Apple's iPad Smokes Past the iPhone 3GS in Speed Test. Keizer. Gregg. 2010-04-06. PC World. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100420062954/http://www.pcworld.com/article/193597/Apple_iPad_Smokes_Past_the_iPhone_3GS_in_Speed_Test.html. 20 April 2010. 2010-04-11.
  12. Web site: Apple's A4 dissected, discussed...and tantalizing. Boldt. Paul. Scansen. Don. Whibley. Tim. 16 June 2010. EE Times. 2023-04-13.
  13. Web site: Microsoft PowerPoint - Apple A4 vs SEC S5PC110A01. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100704204344/http://www.ubmtechinsights.com/uploadedFiles/Apple%20A4%20vs%20SEC%20S5PC110A01.pdf. 4 July 2010. 2010-07-07.
  14. Web site: From A4 to the A11 Bionic: The Evolution of Apple 'A' mobile chips. Kunal. Khullar. 2017-09-13. PCMag India. en-in. 2020-05-17. 2020-07-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20200726075914/https://in.pcmag.com/apple/116667/from-a4-to-the-a11-bionic-the-evolution-of-apple-a-mobile-chips. live.
  15. Web site: Chipworks Confirms Apple A4 iPad chip is fabbed by Samsung in their 45-nm process. April 15, 2010. Chipworks. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100921083904/http://chipworks.com/A4_is_Samsung_45nm.aspx. 21 September 2010. The die was approximately 7.3 mm square, giving a die area of 53.3 mm2,.
  16. Web site: Teardown of Apple's 4th-gen iPod touch finds 256MB of RAM. 2010-09-08. Appleinsider.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100911215136/http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/09/08/teardown_of_apples_4th_gen_ipod_touch_finds_256mb_of_ram.html. 11 September 2010. 2010-09-10.
  17. Web site: Apple TV 2nd Generation Teardown. 2010-09-30. iFixit. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110102052816/http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple-TV-2nd-Generation-Teardown/3625/2. 2 January 2011. 2011-01-04.
  18. Web site: Apple reveals iPhone 4 has 512MB RAM, doubling iPad - report . Appleinsider.com . 2010-06-17 . 2010-07-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20100704124612/http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/06/17/apple_reveals_iphone_4_has_512mb_ram_doubling_ipad_report.html. 4 July 2010 . live.
  19. Web site: A Peek Inside Apple's A4 Processor . iFixit . 2010-04-05 . 2010-04-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130528202615/http://www.ifixit.com/blog/2010/04/05/a-peek-inside-apples-a4-processor/ . 2013-05-28 . dead .
  20. Web site: Apple iPad: no LPDDR2? . Denali . 2010-04-09 . Marc . Greenberg . 2010-04-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120319102502/http://www.denali.com/wordpress/index.php/dmr/2010/04/09/apple-ipad-no-lpddr2 . 2012-03-19 . dead .
  21. Web site: iPad equipped to deliver richer graphics. Merritt. Rick. 2010-04-09. EE Times Asia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927104038/http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800603321_499495_NP_1e1373d9.HTM. 2011-09-27. 2010-04-14.

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