Apple A9X

Apple A9X

Apple A9X chip
Produced From September 9, 2015 to Present
Designed by Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer(s)
Max. CPU clock rate 2.16 GHz[1] to 2.26 GHz[2]
Min. feature size 16 nm (TSMC)[3]
Instruction set A64, A32, T32
Microarchitecture Twister[4][5] ARMv8-A-compatible
Product code APL1021
Cores 2[2]
L1 cache Per core: 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data
L2 cache 3 MB shared
Predecessor Apple A8X
Successor Apple A10 Fusion
GPU PowerVR Series 7XT (12 cores)[3]
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.[6] The A9X has the M9 motion coprocessor embedded in it, which had not been before. 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.[7]

Design

The A9X features an Apple-designed 64-bit ARMv8-A dual-core CPU called "Twister".[5] It offers double the memory bandwidth and double the storage performance of the Apple A8X.[8]

Unlike the A9, the A9X does not contain a L3 cache due to its significant DRAM bandwidth. The A9X is paired with 4 GB of LPDDR4 memory in the 12.9" iPad Pro and 2 GB of LPDDR4 memory in the 9.7" iPad Pro with a total bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This high bandwidth is necessary to feed the SoC's dodeca-core PowerVR 7 Series GPU cores.[9] 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.[10] 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

References

  1. ↑ 9.7 inch iPad Pro includes 2 GB RAM, slightly slower CPU than 12.9 inch iPad Pro
  2. 1 2 "The A9X SoC & More To Come - The iPad Pro Preview: Taking Notes With iPad Pro". AnandTech. November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Ryan (November 30, 2015). "More on Apple's A9X SoC". AnandTech. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  4. ↑ Joshua Ho. "iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Preliminary Results". anandtech.com.
  5. 1 2 Joshua Ho, Ryan Smith. "A9's CPU: Twister - The Apple iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Review". anandtech.com.
  6. ↑ "Apple Introduces iPad Pro Featuring Epic 12.9-inch Retina Display" (Press release). Apple. September 9, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ Chester, Brandon (September 9, 2015). "Apple Announces the iPad Pro and iPad Mini 4". AnandTech. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Apple's new iPad Pro is an expansive 12.9 inches, available in November". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "More on Apple's A9X SoC: 147mm2@TSMC, 12 GPU Cores, No L3 Cache". AnandTech. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Apple iPad Pro Review". Retrieved 25 January 2016.


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