Last month, Apple introduced a new generation of iPad Pro tablets, and, to the surprise of many, the new devices did not upgrade to a more powerful variant of Apple's latest A13 SoC. Instead, the iPad used a chip that Apple called the A12Z. This name clearly indicated that it was based on the same Vortex/Tempest architecture as the previous A12X used in the 2018 iPad Pro.
Apple's unusual move has led many to suspect that the A12Z may not even be a new chip, but rather an unlocked A12X, and now the public has received confirmation of this theory thanks to TechInsights. In a brief tweet, the technical analysis and reverse engineering firm released its findings and images comparing the A12Z and A12X. The two chips are absolutely identical: each functional block in the A12Z is in the same place and is the same size as in the A12X.
Our analysis confirms GPU chip found inside (model A2068) is the same as A12X predecessor. A report of our findings is underway & will be available as part of TechInsights' Subscription. Learn more here
— TechInsights (@techinsightsinc)
While the TechInsights analysis doesn't reveal additional details like the chip's stepping, one thing is clear: even if the A12Z has a newer stepping compared to the 12 A2018X, the A12Z brings nothing new in terms of design. The notable changes between the two chips are only in their configuration: while the A12X comes with 7 active GPU clusters, the A12Z has all 8 enabled.
And although in reality this change does not give too much gain, we are still talking about a new product that received . The A12X is manufactured under TSMC's 7nm guidelines and was one of the largest chips produced on the cutting-edge 2018nm process at the time of its release in 7. Now, after 18 months, the yield rate of crystals should have increased significantly, so the need to turn off the units to use more crystals has decreased.
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Comparison of Apple chips |
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|
A12Z |
A12X |
A13 |
A12 |
|
CPU |
4x Apple Vortex |
4x Apple Vortex |
2x Apple Lightning |
2x Apple Vortex |
|
GP |
8 blocks, |
7 blocks |
4 blocks, |
4 blocks, |
|
Memory bus |
128-bit LPDDR4X |
128-bit LPDDR4X |
64-bit LPDDR4X |
64-bit LPDDR4X |
|
Technical process |
TSMC 7nm (N7) |
TSMC 7 nm (N7) |
TSMC 7 nm (N7P) |
TSMC 7 nm (N7) |
Why Apple chose to reuse the A12X in its 2020 tablets instead of releasing the A13X is anyone's guess: the answer to that question most likely comes down to economics. The tablet market is significantly smaller than the smartphone market, and even Apple, which has few competitors in high-end ARM-powered tablets, sells far fewer iPads than iPhones. Thus, the number of devices for spreading the costs of developing specialized chips is not so large, and with each generation of lithographic standards, design becomes more and more costly. At some point, it makes no sense to create new chips annually for products with relatively small runs. Apparently, Apple has reached this mark with regard to its tablet processors.
Source: 3dnews.ru