Apple Praised for Bold Move With A6 Processor

While we have seen images of Apple's A6 processor die, large parts of the core design as well as the interaction of the integrated components remain speculation.

The latest indicator is the most recent release of the Microprocessor Report, in which Linley Gwennap argues that several hundred million dollars of investment are paying off for Apple. The latest A6 processor design is recognized as unique and as a design "that has never been seen before." That indicates a design that is specifically tailored to the needs of the iPhone and the iPad, which makes economic sense at the scale of current iPhone and iPad shipments.

Gwennap notes "that the iPhone 5 could generate $20 billion in revenue" in the Christmas season alone. "So that half a billion dollars [of investment] could be money well spent," he said.

However, Apple appears to be now reaping the fruits of its gutsy move to develop its own microprocessor with the help of acquired companies such as PA Semi in 2008 and Intrinsity in 2010. There was the notion that Apple could never compete with the processor design resources by companies such as Samsung or Intel, but it seems that the company is changing opinions.

_{Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback}

You need to be logged to post a comment

There are 42 Comments.

Top Comments

23

syrious1 , October 20, 2012 5:07 AM

Quote:
that in general doubles the performance of the chip in the iPhone 4S

I would like to see some actual benchmarks, instead of a photo of the die.
13

eklipz330 , October 20, 2012 5:44 AM

zwavergnYou do realize the dual-core A6 outperforms some quad-cores like the Nvidia Tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4, which are quad core chips, right?More cores does not mean it's better. A better architecture or design makes the difference. In Apple's case with the A6, they laid it out by hand instead of the usual automated tools and it gave significant performance boosts.
what are you trying to reason with someone that hates apple? that's like trying to reason with someone that buys nothing BUT apple.

2 sides of the same coin.
14

deftonian , October 20, 2012 5:48 AM

DangiOf course A6 will run faster, that's what embedded systems do, you don't need that much CPU brute force if the system is fully optimized for it, the same way consoles can play games with performance close to computer games ( without AA ) with hardware thats way less powerful

It's a stretch to say consoles can play games with performance close to computer games... a very big stretch. Computers have such a huge range when it comes to performance so if you mean that consoles comes close to low end computers in regards to gaming, then you're accurate. But mid to higher end PCs will knock the socks off a console.

Other Comments

23

syrious1 , October 20, 2012 5:07 AM

Quote:
that in general doubles the performance of the chip in the iPhone 4S

I would like to see some actual benchmarks, instead of a photo of the die.
14

deftonian , October 20, 2012 5:48 AM

DangiOf course A6 will run faster, that's what embedded systems do, you don't need that much CPU brute force if the system is fully optimized for it, the same way consoles can play games with performance close to computer games ( without AA ) with hardware thats way less powerful

It's a stretch to say consoles can play games with performance close to computer games... a very big stretch. Computers have such a huge range when it comes to performance so if you mean that consoles comes close to low end computers in regards to gaming, then you're accurate. But mid to higher end PCs will knock the socks off a console.
13

eklipz330 , October 20, 2012 5:44 AM

zwavergnYou do realize the dual-core A6 outperforms some quad-cores like the Nvidia Tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4, which are quad core chips, right?More cores does not mean it's better. A better architecture or design makes the difference. In Apple's case with the A6, they laid it out by hand instead of the usual automated tools and it gave significant performance boosts.
what are you trying to reason with someone that hates apple? that's like trying to reason with someone that buys nothing BUT apple.

2 sides of the same coin.

Display more comments