The Apple A10X Fusion is a
64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A comput ...
ARM-based system on a chip
A system on a chip or system-on-chip (SoC ; pl. ''SoCs'' ) is an integrated circuit that integrates most or all components of a computer or other electronic system. These components almost always include a central processing unit (CPU), memory ...
(SoC) designed by
Apple Inc. and manufactured by
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semiconductor company, the world' ...
. It first appeared in the 10.5"
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro is a premium model of Apple's iPad tablet computer. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized version of the iOS operating system.
The original iPad Pro was introduced in September 2015, and ran iOS 9. The second-generation iPad ...
and the second-generation 12.9" iPad Pro, which were both announced on June 5, 2017.
The A10X is a variant of the
A10 and Apple claims that it has 30 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster GPU performance than its predecessor, the
A9X.
Design
The A10X features an Apple-designed 64-bit 2.38 GHz
ARMv8-A six-core CPU, with three high-performance Hurricane cores and three energy-efficient Zephyr cores.
The A10X also integrates a twelve-core
graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, m ...
(GPU)
which appears to be the same Apple customized
Imagination
Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations o ...
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL ac ...
cores used in the
A10.
Embedded in the A10X is the M10
motion coprocessor.
Built on TSMC's
10 nm FinFET
A fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a multigate device, a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) built on a substrate where the gate is placed on two, three, or four sides of the channel or wrapped around the channel, ...
process
with a die size of 96.4mm
2, the A10X is 34% smaller than the
A9X and is the smallest iPad SoC.
The A10X is the first TSMC 10nm chip to be used by a consumer device.
The A10X is paired with 4 GB of
LPDDR4
Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR), also known as LPDDR SDRAM, is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory that consumes less power and is targeted for mobile computers and devices such as mobile phones. Older variants are also known a ...
memory in the second-generation 12.9" iPad Pro and the 10.5" iPad Pro,
and 3 GB in the 4K Apple TV.
The A10X has video codec encoding support for
H.264. It has decoding support for
HEVC
High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2, is a video compression standard designed as part of the MPEG-H project as a successor to the widely used Advanced Video Coding (AVC, H.264, or MPEG-4 Part 10). In compar ...
, H.264,
MPEG‑4, and
Motion JPEG.
Products that include the Apple A10X
*
iPad Pro 10.5-inch (2017)
*
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation, 2017)
*
Apple TV 4K (2017)
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. It is the basis of most new Mac computers as well as iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, a ...
, the series of ARM-based system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors designed by Apple.
*
Apple A10 Fusion
The Apple A10 Fusion is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC), designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by TSMC. It first appeared in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus which were introduced on September 7, 2016, and is used in the sixth generation iPa ...
References
{{Application ARM-based chips
Computer-related introductions in 2017
Apple silicon