The Apple A6X 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 electronic system onto a single microchip. Typically, an SoC includes a central processing unit (CPU) with memory, input/output, and dat ...
(SoC) designed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
, 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. It was introduced with and only used in 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
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, a ...
. Apple claims the A6X has twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, the
Apple A5X.
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
iOS 11 is the iOS version history, eleventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., Apple, being the successor to iOS 10. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5, 2017, and w ...
in 2017.
Design
The A6X features a 1.4 GHz custom Apple-designed
ARMv7-A architecture based
dual-core CPU called Swift,
introduced in the
Apple A6.
It includes an integrated quad-core
PowerVR SGX554MP4 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)
running at 300 MHz and a quad-channel
memory subsystem.
The memory subsystem supports LPDDR2-1066 DRAM, increasing the theoretical memory bandwidth to 17 GB/s.
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
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 ...
on a
High-κ metal gate (HKMG) 32 nm process. It has a die with an area of 123 mm
2, 30% larger than the A6.
Products that include the Apple A6X
*
iPad (4th generation)
See also
*
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 ...
, the range of ARM-based processors designed by Apple.
*
Apple A6
References
External links
{{Application ARM-based chips
Computer-related introductions in 2012
Products and services discontinued in 2017
Apple silicon