Apple Launches Its Own CPU, the 1GHz A4
More than meets the eye.
Today's unveiling of what seemed to be a dull product, also introduced something else even more significant from Apple--its first real CPU, the 1GHz Apple A4 processor.
Apple's purchase of PA Semiconductor not too long ago, yielded its first product today, but it's not the fact that it was used in the iPad that makes it special. What's special is that Apple now has a real processor on its hands. And in case you're wondering whether or not Apple's own CPU can compete with the likes of ARM's Cortex or Qualcomm's Snapdragon CPUs, the A4 has potential to kick the living shnizzles out of those CPUs.
First, the A4 runs at a 1GHz frequency, which by mobile CPU standards, is quite high. Considering that Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon powers Google's Nexus One, the Apple A4 could power the next wave of super-smartphones. In fact, at its current spec and frequency, the Apple A4 can play back HD video for 10 hours before requiring a full battery charge.
As of currently, other specs about Apple's A4 CPU are scant, but we're sure things will be more clear in the next coming weeks. We can see from the iPad's capabilities that the A4 is potent, but things are still fresh and we'll have to wait and see what software developers can come up with.
What the iPad showcases today and what it's an indication of, is a lot more interesting than the iPad itself.
More on the Apple iPad here.
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yang this article is true in so many ways. I can't wait to see this in mobile devices but by knowing apple, it'll probably only be found in apple phonesReply -
ta152h It's a matter of time before Apple changes their Macs to run on this new instruction set. After all, they've been on x86 for a few years now, and that's really pushing it.Reply -
AMDnoob Interesting development, is apple gonna try to get in on the CPU business? Or at least the ultra mobile processing sector. Future iPhone/iPod touch CPU here? Would they license it out for others to use in their products? What kind of instruction does it use? Was it inspired my PowerPC CPU's at all? ARM??? btw, i still can't get over the name "iPad" every time I think of.. well you know what ;)Reply -
mavroxur Articlethe Apple A4 could power the next wave of super-smartphonesReply
I don't see this, I just see it powering the next wave of APPLE branded devices, not any other brands. -
mactruck This new A4 sounds good compared to other cell-phone processors, but shouldn't we really be comparing it to netbook CPUs? At $630 to $830, Apple is pushing this thing far out of the reach of any comparable 3G smart-phone running Snapdragon. Without the Apple hype machine this is just one severely over-priced e-book reader.Reply -
snurp85 gayanYEY...more competition = better products+ lower prices for us the consumer....Reply
you are forgetting one major thing... Its Apple. The term "lower prices" is not in their dictionary. Since this obviously is not going to be priced for the mainstream, it will not much affect other processors which are already priced decently. -
starryman Sweeeeet... I was tired of the lack of competition in the cpu business. Apple should go into the business of RISC based processors.Reply -
daship Now they need to force them to use them in a mac since osx requires apple hardware to be installed.Reply