Apple A6X

System on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.

  • Samsung Electronics
Product codeS5L8955XPerformanceMax. CPU clock rate1.4 GHz[1] CacheL1 cache32 KB instruction + 32 KB data[2]L2 cache1 MB[3]Architecture and classificationApplicationMobileTechnology node32 nm.[4]MicroarchitectureSwift[1]Instruction setARMv7-A:[1] ARM, Thumb-2 with "armv7s" extensions (integer division, VFPv4, Advanced SIMDv2)[5]Physical specificationsCoresGPU(s)PowerVR SGX554MP4 (quad-core)[1]Products, models, variantsVariant(s)
  • Apple A6
HistoryPredecessor(s)Apple A5XSuccessor(s)Apple A7 (APL5698 variant)

The Apple A6X is a 32-bit system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., introduced at the launch of the 4th generation iPad on October 23, 2012. It is a high-performance variant of the Apple A6 and the last 32-bit chip Apple used on an iOS device before Apple switched to 64-bit. Apple claims the A6X has twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, the Apple A5X.[6] Software updates for the 4th generation iPad ended in 2019 with the release of iOS 10.3.4 for cellular models, thus ceasing support for this chip as it was discontinued with the release of iOS 11 in 2017.

Design

The A6X features a 1.4 GHz custom Apple-designed ARMv7-A architecture based dual-core CPU called Swift,[1] introduced in the Apple A6.[7] It includes an integrated quad-core PowerVR SGX554MP4 graphics processing unit (GPU)[1] running at 300 MHz[citation needed] and a quad-channel memory subsystem.[1] The memory subsystem supports LPDDR2-1066 DRAM, increasing the theoretical memory bandwidth to 17 GB/s.[3]

Unlike the A6, but similar to the A5X, the A6X is covered with a metal heat spreader, includes no RAM, and is not a package-on-package (PoP) assembly. The A6X is manufactured by Samsung on a High-κ metal gate (HKMG) 32 nm process. It has a die with an area of 123 mm2, 30% larger than the A6.[4]

Products that include the Apple A6X

  • iPad (4th generation)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Lal Shimpi, Anand (November 2, 2012). "iPad 4 GPU Performance Analyzed: PowerVR SGX 554MP4 Under the Hood". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "iPad (4th generation)". Geekbench. September 12, 2013. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Lal Shimpi, Anand (December 6, 2012). "iPad 4 (Late 2012) Review: CPU Performance". AnandTech. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Inside the Apple iPad 4 – A6X a very new beast!". Chipworks. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  5. ^ "A few things iOS developers ought to know about the ARM architecture – Wandering Coder". Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "Apple Introduces iPad mini". Apple. October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Lal Shimpi, Anand; Klug, Brian; Gowri, Vivek (October 16, 2012). "The iPhone 5 Review - Decoding Swift". AnandTech. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2013.

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Products
Hardware
Mac
iPod
iPhone
iPad
AirPods
Other
Software
Operating
systems
Services
Financial
Media
Communication
Retail and
digital sales
Support
Other
Companies
Subsidiaries
Acquisitions
Partnerships
RelatedPeople
Executives
Current
Former
Board of
directors
Current
Former
Founders
  • Italics indicate discontinued products, services, or defunct companies.
  • Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Apple hardware
Apple II
family
Mac
Desktops
Laptops
Servers
Devices
iPhone
iPad
  • 1st
  • 2
  • 3rd
  • 4th
  • 5th
  • 6th
  • 7th
  • 8th
  • 9th
  • 10th
  • iPad Air
    • 1st
    • 2
    • 3rd
    • 4th
    • 5th
    • 6th
  • iPad Mini
    • 1st
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5th
    • 6th
  • iPad Pro
    • 9.7 / 12.9 (1st)
    • 10.5 / 12.9 (2nd)
    • 11 (1st) / 12.9 (3rd)
    • 11 (2nd) / 12.9 (4th)
    • 11 (3rd) / 12.9 (5th)
    • 11 (4th) / 12.9 (6th)
    • 11 (5th) / 13
iPod
Unreleased
Accessories
Audio
Displays
Drives
Input
iPod
Networking
Printers
Security
Silicon
  • v
  • t
  • e
Application ARM-based chips
Application
processors
(32-bit)
ARMv7-A
Cortex-A5
Cortex-A7
Cortex-A8
Cortex-A9
Cortex-A15
Cortex-A17
Others
ARMv7-A
compatible
ARMv8-A
Others
Application
processors
(64-bit)
ARMv8-A
Cortex-A35
Cortex-A53
Cortex-A57
Cortex-A72
Cortex-A73
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 460, 636, 660, 632, 662, 665, 680, 685, 835
  • Samsung Exynos 7872, 7884, 7885, 7904, 9609, 9610, 9611
  • HiSilicon Kirin 710, 960, 970
  • MediaTek MT6771/V, MT6799, MT8183, MT8788
  • Amlogic S922X
Others
ARMv8-A
compatible
ARMv8.1-A
ARMv8.1-A
compatible
ARMv8.2-A
Cortex-A55
Cortex-A75
Cortex-A76
Cortex-A77
Cortex-A78
Cortex-X1
Neoverse N1
Others
  • Cortex-A65, Cortex-A65AE, Cortex-A76AE, Cortex-A78C, Cortex-X1C, Neoverse E1
ARMv8.2-A
compatible
ARMv8.3-A
ARMv8.3-A
compatible
ARMv8.4-A
Neoverse V1
ARMv8.4-A
compatible
ARMv8.5-A
ARMv8.5-A
compatible
ARMv8.6-A
ARMv8.6-A
compatible
ARMv9.0-A
Cortex-A510
Cortex-A710
Cortex-A715
Cortex-X2
Cortex-X3
Neoverse N2
Neoverse V2
ARMv9.2-A
Cortex-A520
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, Snapdragon 8(s) Gen 3
  • Samsung Exynos 2400
Cortex-A720
Cortex-X4
Neoverse N3
-
Neoverse V3
-