The Apple A5 is a

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in a maximum of 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform la ...

system on a chip A system on a chip (SoC) is an integrated circuit that combines most or all key components of a computer or Electronics, electronic system onto a single microchip. Typically, an SoC includes a central processing unit (CPU) with computer memory, ...

(SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the

Apple silicon Apple silicon is a series of system on a chip (SoC) and system in a package (SiP) processors designed by Apple Inc., mainly using the ARM architecture family, ARM architecture. They are used in nearly all of the company's devices including Mac ...

series, and manufactured by

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

. The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the iPad 2. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011, that the ARM Cortex-A9

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary Processor (computing), processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes Instruction (computing), instructions ...

(CPU) in the A5 is up to two times faster than the CPU in the Apple A4, and the PowerVR SGX543MP2

graphics processing unit A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed for digital image processing and to accelerate computer graphics, being present either as a discrete video card or embedded on motherboards, mobile phones, personal ...

(GPU) in the A5 is up to nine times faster than the GPU in the A4. Apple also claimed that the A5 uses the same amount of power as the A4. The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an A5 (iPad 2 CDMA,

iPhone 4S The is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fifth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4 and preceding the iPhone 5. It was announced on October 4, 2011, at Apple's Cupertino ...

, and first-generation iPad Mini cellular models) was iOS 9.3.6, which was released on July 22, 2019, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 10 in 2016. The latest operating system update Apple has provided for an Apple TV containing an A5 ( third-generation Apple TV and third-generation Rev A Apple TV) was Apple TV Software 7.9, which was released on March 14, 2022.

Design

The A5 chip features a

dual-core A multi-core processor (MCP) is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit (IC) with two or more separate central processing units (CPUs), called ''cores'' to emphasize their multiplicity (for example, ''dual-core'' or ''quad-core''). Ea ...

45 nm Cortex-A9 CPU (shrunk to 32 nm in later versions of the chip) including the Advanced SIMD (Neon) extension, and a dual-core 32 nm PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU. The A5 integrates an image signal processor unit (ISP) that can perform advanced image post-processing, such as face detection, white balance, and automatic image stabilization. The A5 also directly integrates

Audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

earSmart technology for removing surrounding background noise and secondary voices during phone calls. The

clock rate Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's s ...

of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the iPad 2 and first-generation iPad Mini is 1 GHz. Both of these devices, unlike devices containing the A4 with a clock rate of 800 MHz, can automatically underclock their A5 chip to save battery life. The clock rate of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the

and fifth-generation iPod Touch is 800 MHz ( underclocked from 1 GHz). It is unknown what the clock rate of the Cortex-A9 in the A5 used inside the third-generation Apple TV and third-generation Rev A Apple TV is. When the A5 was first released, the production cost of the chip was estimated to be 75% more than the A4, with the difference expected to diminish when production would later increase. , the A5 was manufactured at Samsung's

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

factory. Samsung invested $3.6 billion in the Austin facility to produce various chips, and nearly all of the facility's output was dedicated to producing Apple chips. Samsung later invested a further $4.2 billion in the Austin facility in order to transition to a 28 nm fabrication process by the second half of 2013.

Apple A5 versions

Three versions of the A5 chip exist: S5L8940 (containing a 45 nm CPU), S5L8942 (containing a 32 nm CPU), and S5L8947 (containing a single-core 32 nm CPU). Apple also designed a separate high-performance variant of the A5 called the Apple A5X, which features a wider memory subsystem and two additional GPU cores. The A5X was used only in the third-generation iPad.

Apple A5 (S5L8940)

The S5L8940 version of the A5 was used in the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S. The CPU was manufactured on a 45 nm fabrication process. The die of this version takes up 122.2 mm² of area. It uses the PoP method of installation to support RAM. The top package contains two 256 MB LPDDR2 chips, providing a total of 512 MB of RAM.

Apple A5R2 (S5L8942)

The S5L8942 version of the A5 was used in the third-generation Apple TV (one CPU core is disabled), the iPad 2 (iPad2,4 revision), the fifth-generation iPod Touch, and the first-generation iPad Mini. The CPU was manufactured on a 32 nm fabrication process. The die of this version takes up 69.6 mm² of area—nearly 41% smaller than the die of the S5L8940 version. Like the S5L8940 version, it uses the PoP method of installation to support RAM. The top package contains two 256 MB LPDDR2 chips, providing a total of 512 MB of RAM.

Apple A5R3 (S5L8947)

The S5L8947 version of the A5 was used only in the third-generation Rev A Apple TV. Unlike the previous two A5 versions, this version contains only one CPU core. Also unlike the previous two A5 versions, this version does not use the PoP method of installation to support RAM—RAM is found externally from the A5 chip. The die of this version takes up 37.8mm² of area, using a new design made specifically for the third-generation Rev A Apple TV.

Products featuring the Apple A5

* iPad 2 *

* Apple TV (3rd generation) * iPod Touch (5th generation) * iPad Mini (1st generation) * Apple TV (3rd generation Rev A)

Gallery

''These images are illustrations and approximate to scale.'' A5 APL0498 iPhone4s mlb 820-3031-B

References

External links

* {{Application ARM-based chips Products introduced in 2011 Products and services discontinued in 2016 Computer-related introductions in 2011 Apple silicon