A-Series and M-Series architectures driving system-on-chip boundaries.
ARM Cortex A8
1st gen of Apple Silicon. Apple decided to design it's own chips. A Big gamble, that paid off Big time a decade lat...
ARM Cortex A8
1st gen of Apple Silicon. Apple decided to design it's own chips.
A Big gamble, that paid off Big time a decade later with the Apple M1 triumph.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2010 |
| Arch Generation | 4 |
| Architecture / Codename | ARM Cortex A8 |
| Cores / Threads | 1/1 |
| Technology Node | 45 nm |
| Die Size | 53.3 mm2 |
| Transistors | 149 million |
| Frequency | 800-1000 MHz |
| Instructions | 32 KB + 32 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 512 KB |
| Cache L3 | none |
| Cache | 0.5 MB |
| Memory Type | ? |
| Memory Bandwidth | ? |
| Memory Size Max | ? |
ARM Cortex A9
Dual-core design. Follow up on the A4....
ARM Cortex A9
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2011 |
| Arch Generation | 5 |
| Architecture / Codename | ARM Cortex A9 |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 |
| Technology Node | 45 nm |
| Die Size | 122 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ? million |
| Frequency | 800-1000 MHz |
| Instructions | 32 KB + 32 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | none |
Swift
"Swift" -- 1st Apple architecture CPU core designed in-house. Until now, Apple was designing it's chips u...
Swift
"Swift" -- 1st Apple architecture CPU core designed in-house.
Until now, Apple was designing it's chips using standard ARM Cortex cores.
Performance of the iPhone was similar to that of the Android vendors.
From this point on-wards Apple CPU's was a distinct product.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2012 |
| Arch Generation | 6 |
| Architecture / Codename | Swift |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 |
| Technology Node | 32 nm |
| Die Size | 97 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ? million |
| Frequency | 1300 MHz |
| Instructions | 32 KB + 32 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | none |
Cyclone
Apple has shocked the world by introducing the world's first 64-bit smartphone nearly two years ahead of the compet...
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Cyclone
Apple has shocked the world by introducing the world's first 64-bit smartphone
nearly two years ahead of the competition (Samsung Galaxy S6, in 2015).
This was the 1st big fruit from the fruit company's in-house silicon team.
World's 1st ARMv8 chip.
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A7 / iPhone 5S
ST score/GHz: 507 · MT score/Watt: 370
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2013 |
| Arch Generation | 7 |
| Architecture / Codename | Cyclone |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 |
| Technology Node | 28 nm |
| Die Size | 102 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~1 billion |
| Frequency | 1300 MHz |
| Instructions | 64 KB + 64 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | 4 MB |
Typhoon
This CPU was so fast that it was coming close to Intel Core 2 Duo processors from year 2006. Core 2 Duo, even in 2014, h...
📊 Benchmark Results (2)Typhoon
This CPU was so fast that it was coming close to Intel Core 2 Duo processors from year 2006.
Core 2 Duo, even in 2014, had enough performance oomph to push most common desktop workloads, websites, and video.
At this generation I figured out, that it may be possible to build a desktop PC using mobile chips from an iPhone, and expect relatively 'okay-ish' performance for office and web tasks.
This dream came true with the Apple M1 triumph in 2020, 6 years later!
Apple A8X, a variant with triple-core design was used in iPad Air 2.
2 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A8 / iPhone 6
ST score/GHz: 594 · MT score/Watt: 338
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2014 |
| Arch Generation | 8 |
| Architecture / Codename | Typhoon |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 (3/3 for Apple A8X) |
| Technology Node | 20 nm |
| Die Size | 89 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~2 billion |
| Frequency | 1400 MHz |
| Instructions | 64 KB + 64 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | 4 MB |
| Cache | 5 MB |
| Memory Type | ? |
| Memory Bandwidth | ? |
| Memory Size Max | ? |
Twister
"Mister Twister". A new-generation of in-house Apple silicon....
📊 Benchmark Results (2)Twister
"Mister Twister". A new-generation of in-house Apple silicon.
2 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A9 / iPhone 6SE
ST score/GHz: 774 · MT score/Watt: 500
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2015 |
| Arch Generation | 9 |
| Architecture / Codename | Twister |
| Cores / Threads | 2/2 (3/3 for A9X chip for iPad) |
| Technology Node | 14 nm |
| Die Size | 96 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~3 billion |
| Frequency | 1400 MHz |
| Instructions | 64 KB + 64 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | 4 MB |
Hurricane + Zephyr
"Mister Twister". A new-generation of in-house Apple silicon. From Wikipedia "The A10 is the first Apple-...
📊 Benchmark Results (2)Hurricane + Zephyr
"Mister Twister". A new-generation of in-house Apple silicon.
From Wikipedia
"The A10 is the first Apple-designed quad-core SoC, with two high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores."
2 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A10 / iPhone 7
ST score/GHz: 771 · MT score/Watt: 631
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2016 |
| Arch Generation | 10 |
| Architecture / Codename | Hurricane + Zephyr |
| Cores / Threads | 2C+2c (2 Big Cores + 2 small cores) |
| Technology Node | 16 nm |
| Die Size | 125 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~3.28 billion |
| Frequency | 1400 MHz |
| Instructions | 64 KB + 64 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 1 MB |
| Cache L3 | 4 MB |
Monsoon + Mistral
Named "Bionic" because it was the first Apple chip to introduce an NPU -- Neural Processing Unit. Very much li...
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Monsoon + Mistral
Named "Bionic" because it was the first Apple chip to introduce an NPU -- Neural Processing Unit.
Very much like biological brain, it can model neurons and their connections to identify images,
Face ID, and maybe even play Chess... :)
Until now, Apple chips included only CPUs and GPUs (besides memory and I/O units).
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A11 / iPhone X
ST score/GHz: 989 · MT score/Watt: 1,080
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2017 |
| Arch Generation | 11 |
| Architecture / Codename | Monsoon + Mistral |
| Cores / Threads | 2C+4c (2 Big Cores + 4 small cores) |
| Technology Node | 10 nm |
| Die Size | 87 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~4.3 billion |
| Frequency | 2400 MHz |
| Instructions | 64 KB + 64 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 8 MB |
Vortex + Tempest
Vortex + Tempest
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A12 / iPhone XS
ST score/GHz: 971 · MT score/Watt: 1,415
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2018 |
| Arch Generation | 12 |
| Architecture / Codename | Vortex + Tempest |
| Cores / Threads | 2C+4c (2 Big Cores + 4 small cores) |
| Technology Node | 7 nm |
| Die Size | 83 mm^2 |
| Transistors | ~6.9 billion |
| Frequency | 2500 MHz |
| Instructions | 128 KB + 128 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 8 MB |
Lightning + Thunder
Lightning + Thunder
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A13 / iPhone 11
ST score/GHz: 1,057 · MT score/Watt: 1,192
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2019 |
| Arch Generation | 13 |
| Architecture / Codename | Lightning + Thunder |
| Cores / Threads | 2C+4c (2 Big Cores + 4 small cores) |
| Technology Node | 7 nm |
| Die Size | 98.48 mm^2 |
| Transistors | 8.5 billion |
| Frequency | 2650 MHz |
| Instructions | 128 KB + 128 KB |
| TDP | ~5? Watts |
| Cache L2 | 8 MB |
Firestorm + Icestorm
This is the moment ! On this CPU, the 1st Apple desktops were based. The Apple M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra are all b...
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Firestorm + Icestorm
This is the moment ! On this CPU, the 1st Apple desktops were based.
The Apple M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra are all based on this design of the A14.
Same 5nm tech node, same CPU and GPU cores.
A14 is also significantly faster than anyone before it, approaching desktop-level
of Performance for web browsing and other office work tasks.
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A14 / iPhone 12
ST score/GHz: 1,119 · MT score/Watt: 1,496
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2020 |
| Arch Generation | 14 |
| Architecture / Codename | Firestorm + Icestorm |
| Cores / Threads | 2P+4e (2 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 5 nm (TSMC N5) |
| Die Size | 87 mm^2 |
| Transistors | 11.8 billion |
| Frequency | 3100 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~8 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 8 MB |
| Cache | ? |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X (Apple) |
| Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/sec |
| Memory Size Max | 6 GB |
Avalanche + Blizzard
According to our own quick testing, the new big cores of "Avalanche" seem similar to those of "Firestorm&...
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Avalanche + Blizzard
According to our own quick testing, the new big cores of "Avalanche" seem similar to those of "Firestorm".
Perhaps a small modification of "Firestorm".
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A15 / iPhone 13 Pro
ST score/GHz: 1,162 · MT score/Watt: 1,556
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2021 |
| Arch Generation | 15 |
| Architecture / Codename | Avalanche + Blizzard |
| Cores / Threads | 2P+4e (2 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 5 nm (TSMC N5P) |
| Die Size | 107.7 mm^2 |
| Transistors | 15 billion |
| Frequency | 3200 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~8 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 12 MB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X (Apple) |
| Memory Bandwidth | 34.1 GB/sec |
| Memory Size Max | 6 GB |
Everest + Sawtooth
Seems like a minor speed up vs the A15 chip....
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Everest + Sawtooth
Seems like a minor speed up vs the A15 chip.
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple A16 / iPhone 14 Pro
ST score/GHz: 1,321 · MT score/Watt: 2,052
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2022 |
| Arch Generation | 16 |
| Architecture / Codename | Everest + Sawtooth |
| Cores / Threads | 2P+4e (2 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 4 nm (TSMC N4P) |
| Die Size | 121 mm2 |
| Transistors | 16 billion |
| Frequency | 3400 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~8 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 16 MB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X |
| Memory Bandwidth | |
| Memory Size Max | 6 GB |
Like the M3, this is a 9-issue P-core, wider that previously used 8-issue cores. GPU got a 3D ray-tracing and a AV1 vide...
Like the M3, this is a 9-issue P-core, wider that previously used 8-issue cores.
GPU got a 3D ray-tracing and a AV1 video decoder, but it is outside of our scope.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2023 |
| Arch Generation | 17 |
| Architecture / Codename | |
| Cores / Threads | 2P+4e (2 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 3 nm (TSMC N3) |
| Die Size | 104 mm2 |
| Transistors | ~19 billion estimated. |
| Frequency | 3800 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~8 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 16 MB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5 ? |
| Memory Bandwidth | |
| Memory Size Max | 8 GB |
Ground-breaking design changes from the Apple M4 down-scaled to the A18 chip. Absolutely amazing performance for web-bro...
Ground-breaking design changes from the Apple M4 down-scaled to the A18 chip.
Absolutely amazing performance for web-browsing, video, and office tasks.
Even beating most desktop-class PCs for those workloads.
Also Apple's first ARMv9 design !
Apple's A18 and M4 are world's most advanced processor designs by far !
Highest single-threaded performance coupled with best power-efficiency.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2024 |
| Arch Generation | 18 |
| Architecture / Codename | |
| Cores / Threads | 2P+4e (2 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 3 nm (TSMC N3E) |
| Die Size | 105 mm2 |
| Transistors | ~20 billion estimated. |
| Frequency | 4000 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~8 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 16 MB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5 ? |
| Memory Bandwidth | |
| Memory Size Max | 8 GB |
Firestorm + Icestorm
This is the historic moment ! Apple's 1st desktop CPU ! The M1 ! Built on the same Apple A14 Performance-cores (Fir...
📊 Benchmark Results (4)Firestorm + Icestorm
This is the historic moment ! Apple's 1st desktop CPU ! The M1 !
Built on the same Apple A14 Performance-cores (Firestorm), it took the world by storm !
It beats the competition both on single-thread performance as well as
performance per watt. Two very important metrics.
Energy-efficient cores (E-cores) are based on "Icestorm" microarchitecture.
First time in the world one can build a very thin laptop,
that works 15 hours on a battery,
and delivers amazing Core i7-like performance levels and is completely silent !
Such a combination has NEVER existed before and was considered impossible until now !
Welcome to the ZERO noise computing ! Macbook Air M1, 2020 !
Probably the most unique and most amazing laptop ever built.
(despite it's lack of I/O, but that is a story for another day...)
Later variants include The M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra as it's big brothers.
A14 - 6 cores (2P+4e); 4 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 34.1 GB/sec; 11.8 billion transistors.
M1 - 8 cores (4P+4e); 7-8 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 68.3 GB/sec; 16 billion transistors.
M1 Pro - 10 cores (8P+2e); 14-16 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 204.8 GB/sec; 33.7 billion transistors.
M1 Max - 10 cores (8P+2e); 24-32 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 409.6 GB/sec; 57 billion transistors.
M1 Ultra - 20 cores (16P+4e); 48-64 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 819.2 GB/sec; 114 billion transistors.
4 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple M1 / Mac Mini
ST score/GHz: 1,437 · MT score/Watt: 1,178
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2020 |
| Arch Generation | 14 |
| Architecture / Codename | Firestorm + Icestorm |
| Cores / Threads | 4P+4e (4 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 5 nm (TSMC N5) |
| Die Size | 119 mm^2 |
| Transistors | 16 billion |
| Frequency | 3200 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~15 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 12 MB /P-cluster |
| Memory Type | LPDDR4X |
| Memory Bandwidth | 68.3 GB/s; (up to 819.2 GB/s for M1 Ultra) |
| Memory Size Max | 16 GB (up to 128 GB for M1 Ultra) |
Avalanche + Blizzard
The M2 is an evolution of the M1; Very similar architecture, but slightly faster....
📊 Benchmark Results (1)Avalanche + Blizzard
The M2 is an evolution of the M1;
Very similar architecture, but slightly faster.
A15 - 6 cores (2P+4e); 4-5 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 34.1 GB/sec; 15 billion transistors
M2 - 8 cores (4P+4e); 8-10 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 102.4 GB/sec; 20 billion transistors
M2 Pro - 12 cores (8P+4e); 16-19 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 204.8 GB/sec; 40 billion transistors
M2 Max - 12 cores (8P+4e); 30-38 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 409.6 GB/sec; 67 billion transistors
M2 Ultra - 24 cores (16P+8e); 60-76 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 819.2 GB/sec; 134 billion transistors
1 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple M2 Ultra
ST score/GHz: 1,482 · MT score/Watt: 582
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2022 |
| Arch Generation | 15 |
| Architecture / Codename | Avalanche + Blizzard |
| Cores / Threads | 4P+4e (4 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 5 nm (TSMC N5P) |
| Die Size | 141 mm^2 (?) |
| Transistors | 20 billion |
| Frequency | 3500 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core |
| TDP | ~15 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 12 MB /P-cluster |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s; (up to 819.2 GB/s for M2 Ultra) |
| Memory Size Max | 24 GB (up to 192 GB for M2 Ultra) |
The M3 is Apple's first chip to be built on a 3 nm process; includes a totally new Apple-designed GPU + a new video...
📊 Benchmark Results (2)
The M3 is Apple's first chip to be built on a 3 nm process;
includes a totally new Apple-designed GPU + a new video media engine, built from the ground up.
Supports mesh shaders, ray-tracing, and AV1 video decoder.
The GPU part shares a lot of common with the Apple A17 Pro chips.
The CPU part is similar to the M1 and M2 chips, without much modifications, but clocked faster.
A17 Pro - 6 cores (2P+4e); 5-6 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 51.2 GB/sec; 19 billion transistors
M3 - 8 cores (4P+4e); 8-10 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 102.4 GB/sec; 25 billion transistors
M3 Pro - 12 cores (6P+6e); 14-18 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 153.6 GB/sec; 37 billion transistors
M3 Max - 16 cores (12P+4e); 30-40 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 409.6 GB/sec; 92 billion transistors
2 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple M3 Max
ST score/GHz: 1,527 · MT score/Watt: 911
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2023 |
| Arch Generation | 17 |
| Architecture / Codename | |
| Cores / Threads | 4P+4e (4 Performance Cores + 4 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 3 nm (TSMC N3B) |
| Die Size | 141 mm^2 (estimated) |
| Transistors | 25 billion |
| Frequency | 4050 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core (?) |
| TDP | ~20 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 12 MB /P-cluster (?) |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 102.4 GB/s; (up to 819.2 GB/s for M2 Ultra) |
| Memory Size Max | 24 GB (up to 192 GB for M2 Ultra) |
(?)
The M4 a huge upgrade by Apple. A mega-revolution. Ground-breaking performance. It has a completely new CPU architecture...
📊 Benchmark Results (2)(?)
The M4 a huge upgrade by Apple. A mega-revolution.
Ground-breaking performance.
It has a completely new CPU architecture, much wider issue, with a new instruction decoder.
Much improved branch prediction and intructions per clock (IPC) cycle.
IPC is increased by about +15% vs the M3, and together with +10% clock, it delivers +25%
performance on single-core, beating everyone and anything at single-core.
It is even beating top-end desktops AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, 9950X,
and Intel Core i9-14900K at many single-core benchmarks, and web browsing !
All of this while being passively cooled and completely silent on the iPad, in a 5-mm thin body.
Totally ridiculous performance, that is unheard of !
A 15-watt device beating a 300-watt, water-cooled, fastest desktop CPU (Intel's 14900K) !
A18 - 6 cores (2P+4e); 5-6 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = ? GB/sec; ? billion transistors
M4 - 10 cores (4P+10e); 10 GPU cores; mem.bandwidth = 120 GB/sec; 28 billion transistors
2 result(s) recorded for this family.
Flagship: Apple M4 Max
ST score/GHz: 1,644 · MT score/Watt: 1,129
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2024 |
| Arch Generation | 18 |
| Architecture / Codename | (?) |
| Cores / Threads | 4P+6e (4 Performance Cores + 6 efficiency cores) |
| Technology Node | 3 nm (2nd-gen TSMC N3E) |
| Die Size | 147 mm^2 (estimated) |
| Transistors | 28 billion |
| Frequency | 4400 MHz |
| Instructions | 192 KB + 128 KB /P-core (?) |
| TDP | ~15 Watts |
| Cache L2 | 12 MB /P-cluster (?) |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5X |
| Memory Bandwidth | 120 GB/s; |
| Memory Size Max | 16 GB |