![]() Apple A9X chip
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Produced | From September 9, 2015 to Present |
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Designed by | Apple Inc. |
Common manufacturer(s) | |
Max. CPU clock rate | 2.26 GHz[1] |
Min. feature size | 16 nm (TSMC)[2] |
Instruction set | A64, A32, T32 |
Microarchitecture | Twister[3][4] ARMv8-A-compatible |
Product code | APL1021 |
Cores | 2[1] |
L1 cache | Per core: 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data |
L2 cache | 3 MB shared |
Predecessor | Apple A8X |
GPU | PowerVR Series 7XT (12 cores)[2] |
Application | Mobile |
Variant | Apple A9 |
The Apple A9X is a 64-bit ARM based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. It first appeared in the iPad Pro, which was announced on September 9, 2015 and was released on November 11, 2015.[5] The A9X has the M9 motion coprocessor embedded in it, which previously was not. It is a variant of the A9 and Apple claims that it has 1.8 times the CPU performance and 2 times the GPU performance of its predecessor, the A8X.[6]
Design
The A9X features an Apple-designed 64-bit 2.26 GHz ARMv8-A dual-core CPU called Twister.[4] It purportedly offers double the memory bandwidth and double the storage performance of the Apple A8X.[7]
Unlike the A9, the A9X does not contain a L3 cache due to its significant DRAM bandwidth. The A9X is paired with 4GB of DDR4 memory with a total bandwidth of 51.2GB/s. This high bandwidth is necessary to feed the SoC's 12 PowerVR 7 Series GPU cores.[8] The RAM is not included in the A9X package unlike its sibling, the A9.
The A9X uses the same NAND interface as the A9, which uses an Apple-designed NVMe-based controller that communicates over a PCIe connection.[9] The iPad Pro's NAND design is more akin to a PC-class SSD than embedded flash memory common on mobile devices. This gives the iPad Pro a significant storage performance advantage over competitors which often use mSATA or eMMC to connect to their storage systems.
Products that include the Apple A9X
See also
- Apple mobile application processors, the range of ARM-based mobile processors designed by Apple for their consumer electronic devices.
- Comparison of ARMv8-A cores
References
- ^ a b "The A9X SoC & More To Come - The iPad Pro Preview: Taking Notes With iPad Pro". AnandTech. November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ a b Smith, Ryan (November 30, 2015). "More on Apple’s A9X SoC". AnandTech. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
- ^ Joshua Ho. "iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Preliminary Results". anandtech.com.
- ^ a b Joshua Ho, Ryan Smith. "A9’s CPU: Twister - The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review". anandtech.com.
- ^ "Apple Introduces iPad Pro Featuring Epic 12.9-inch Retina Display" (Press release). Apple. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ Chester, Brandon (September 9, 2015). "Apple Announces the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4". AnandTech. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ "Apple’s new iPad Pro is an expansive 12.9 inches, available in November". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ "More on Apple’s A9X SoC: 147mm2@TSMC, 12 GPU Cores, No L3 Cache". AnandTech. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "The Apple iPad Pro Review". Retrieved 25 January 2016.
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