Apple A12X - Wikipedia

System-on-a-chip designed by Apple Inc Apple A12X BionicApple A12Z Bionic

General information
Launched	A12X: October 30, 2018 A12Z: March 18, 2020
Discontinued	A12X: March 18, 2020 A12Z: April 20, 2021
Designed by	Apple Inc.
Common manufacturer	TSMC[1]
Product code	APL1083[2]
Max. CPU clock rate	to 2.49[3] GHz
Physical specifications
Cores	8 (ARM big.LITTLE: 4 "big" Vortex + 4 "little" Tempest)[1]
GPUs	Apple-designed integrated graphics A12X: 7 core GPU A12Z: 8 core GPU
Cache
L1 cache	256 KB (per core): 128 KB instruction 128 KB data
L2 cache	8 MB
Architecture and classification
Application	Mobile
Technology node	TSMC N7[4]
Microarchitecture	Vortex Tempest
Instruction set	A64 – ARMv8.3-A
Products, models, variants
Variant	Apple A12
History
Predecessor	Apple A10X
Successor	Apple M1

The Apple A12X Bionic is a 64-bit ARM system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and fabricated by TSMC. Part of the Apple silicon series, it first appeared in the iPad Pro (3rd generation), announced on October 30, 2018.[4] The A12X is an 8-core variant of the A12 (four big cores, four small cores) and Apple states that it has 35 percent faster single-core CPU performance and 90 percent faster overall CPU performance than its predecessor, the Apple A10X.[4] The Apple A12Z Bionic is an updated version of the A12X, adding an additional GPU core, and was unveiled on March 18, 2020, as part of the iPad Pro (4th generation).[5][6]

The Apple A12X was discontinued on March 18, 2020 with the discontinuation of the iPad Pro (3rd generation), and the Apple A12Z was discontinued on April 20, 2021 with the discontinuation of the iPad Pro (4th generation). The latest macOS version for the A12Z in the Developer Transition Kit is macOS 11.2.3, released on March 8, 2021. Other devices using the A12X and A12Z are still supported.

Design

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The A12X and A12Z feature an Apple-designed 64-bit ARMv8.3-A octa-core CPU, with four high-performance cores called Vortex and four energy-efficient cores called Tempest.[4][1] The Vortex cores are a 7-wide decode out-of-order superscalar design, while the Tempest cores are a 3-wide decode out-of-order superscalar design. The Tempest cores are based on Apple's Swift cores from the Apple A6, and are similar in performance to ARM Cortex-A73 CPU cores.[7][8] It is Apple's first SoC with an octa core CPU.[1]

The A12X integrates an Apple-designed 7-core graphics processing unit (GPU), with twice the graphics performance of the A10X.[4] The A12Z has an 8-core GPU, one more core than the A12X, enabling better performance in 4K video editing, rendering, and augmented reality.[9][10] Embedded in the A12X and A12Z is the M12 motion coprocessor.[11] The A12Z additionally features tuned performance controllers and a better thermal architecture compared to the A12X, which potentially allows for higher clock speeds.[12] The A12X and A12Z include dedicated neural network hardware that Apple calls a "next-generation Neural Engine".[4] This neural network hardware, which is the same as found in the A12,[1] can perform up to 5 trillion operations per second.[4]

The A12X and A12Z are manufactured by TSMC using a 7 nm FinFET process, and it contains 10 billion transistors[1][4] vs. the 6.9 billion on the A12.[13] The A12X is paired with 4 GB of LPDDR4X memory in the third-generation 12.9" iPad Pro and the first-generation 11" iPad Pro, or 6 GB in the 1 TB storage configurations.[14][2] The A12Z is paired with 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM in the fourth-generation 12.9" iPad Pro and the second-generation 11" iPad Pro.[15]

The A12X has video codec encoding support for HEVC and H.264. It has decoding support for HEVC, H.264, MPEG‑4, and Motion JPEG.[16]

Developer Transition Kit (2020)

[edit]

At its 2020 Worldwide Developer's Conference, Apple introduced the Developer Transition Kit (2020), which uses the A12Z processor with 16 GB RAM in a Mac mini enclosure, hence being the first Macintosh computer to use the Apple silicon architecture.[17]

The A12Z would be used as the basis for the design of the M1, Apple's first in-house processor designed for use in Mac computers. In an interview shortly after the introduction of the DTK (2020), Apple's SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi commented:

“Even that DTK hardware, which is running on an existing iPad chip that we don’t intend to put in a Mac in the future – it’s just there for the transition – the Mac runs awfully nice on that system. It’s not a basis on which to judge future Macs ... but it gives you a sense of what our silicon team can do when they’re not even trying – and they’re going to be trying.”[18]

Products that include the Apple A12X and A12Z Bionic

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A12X Bionic

[edit]

• iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)

A12Z Bionic

[edit]

• iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
• Developer Transition Kit (ARM, 2020)

See also

[edit]

• Apple silicon, the range of ARM-based processors designed by Apple.
• Apple A12

References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Frumusanu, Andrei (October 30, 2018). "Apple Announces New 11" and 12.9" iPad Pros with A12X SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
2. ^ a b "iPad Pro 11" Teardown". iFixit. November 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
3. ^ "iPad8,8 – Geekbench Browser". Geekbench. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h "New iPad Pro with all-screen design is most advanced, powerful iPad ever" (Press release). Cupertino, CA: Apple Inc. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
5. ^ "Looking at the Apple A12Z Bionic System on Chip". TechInsights. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
6. ^ Miller, Chance (March 18, 2020). "Apple unveils new iPad Pro with backlit Magic Keyboard case, available to order today". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
7. ^ Frumusanu, Andrei. "The iPhone XS & XS Max Review: Unveiling the Silicon Secrets". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
8. ^ Frumusanu, Andrei. "Apple iPhone XS Review Addendum: Small Core and NN Performance". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
9. ^ Miller, Chance (March 26, 2020). "Report claims new iPad Pro's A12Z Bionic chip is just a 'renamed A12X with an enabled GPU core'". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
10. ^ Clover, Juli (April 13, 2020). "A12Z Chip in iPad Pro Confirmed to Be Same As A12X, But With Extra GPU Core Enabled". MacRumors. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
11. ^ "iPad Pro Technical Specifications". Apple Inc. October 30, 2018. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
12. ^ Shilov, Anton. "Apple Unveils New iPad Pro: A12Z Bionic, Camera w/ Depth Sensor for AR, Keyboard w/ Trackpad". www.anandtech.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
13. ^ Summers, Nick (September 12, 2018). "Apple's A12 Bionic is the first 7-nanometer smartphone chip". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
14. ^ Axon, Samuel (November 7, 2018). "2018 iPad Pro review: "What's a computer?"". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
15. ^ Espósito, Felipe (March 18, 2020). "All 2020 iPad Pro models feature 6 GB of RAM, same U1 chip as iPhone 11". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
16. ^ "iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) - Technical Specifications". support.apple.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
17. ^ "Apple announces Mac transition to Apple silicon". Apple Newsroom. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
18. ^ Gruber, John (June 24, 2020). "The Talk Show Remote from WWDC 2020, With Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak". Daring Fireball. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.

v t e Apple silicon
A series	Current A13 Bionic A15 Bionic A16 Bionic A17 Pro A18 / A18 Pro A19 / A19 Pro Discontinued A4 A5 A5X A6 A6X A7 A8 A8X A9 A9X A10 Fusion A10X Fusion A11 Bionic A12 Bionic A12X / A12Z Bionic A14 Bionic
M series	Current M2 Ultra M3 / M3 Ultra M4 / M4 Pro / M4 Max M5 Discontinued M1 / M1 Pro / M1 Max / M1 Ultra M2 / M2 Pro / M2 Max M3 Pro / M3 Max
S series	S1 / S1P S2
T series	T2

v t e Application ARM-based chips
Arm ARM architecture family List of ARM processors List of products using ARM processors ARM Cortex-A ARM C-series ARM Cortex-R ARM Cortex-M Comparison of ARM processors
Applicationprocessors(32-bit)	ARMv7-A Cortex-A5 Actions ATM702x Amlogic M805, S805, T82x Atmel SAMA5D3 InfoTM iMAPx820, iMAPx15 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play, 200 RDA RDA8810PL Telechips TCC892x Cortex-A7 Allwinner A2x, A3x, A83T, H3, H8 NXP i.MX7, QorIQ LS10xx, NXP i.MX6UL Broadcom BCM2836, BCM23550 Leadcore LC1813, LC1860/C, LC1913, LC1960 Marvell Armada 1500 mini plus, PXA1920 MediaTek MT65xx Rockchip RK3126, RK3506 Qualcomm Snapdragon 200, 205, 208, 210, 212, 400 UNISOC SC7731(E), T127 Cortex-A8 Allwinner A1x Apple A4 Freescale i.MX5 Rockchip RK291x Samsung Exynos 3110 (S5PC110), S5PV210 Texas Instruments OMAP 3, Sitara AM3xxx, DM38x ZiiLABS ZMS-08 Cortex-A9 Actions ATM702x, ATM703x Altera Cyclone V, Arria V/10 Amlogic AML8726, MX, M6x, M801, M802/S802, S812, T86x Apple A5, A5X Broadcom BCM21xxx, BCM28xxx Freescale i.MX6 HiSilicon K3V2, 910's InfoTM iMAPx912 Leadcore LC1810, LC1811 Marvell Armada 1500 mini MediaTek MT65xx Nvidia Tegra, 2, 3, 4i Nufront NuSmart 2816M, NS115, NS115M Renesas EMMA EV2, R-Car H1, RZ/A Rockchip RK292x, RK30xx, RK31xx Samsung Exynos 4 421x, 441x ST-Ericsson NovaThor Telechips TCC8803 Texas Instruments OMAP 4, Sitara AM4xxx VIA WonderMedia WM88x0, 89x0 Xilinx Zynq-7000 ZiiLABS ZMS-20, ZMS-40 Cortex-A15 Allwinner A80 HiSilicon K3V3 MediaTek MT8135/V Nvidia Tegra 4, K1 Renesas R-Car H2 Samsung Exynos 5 52xx, 54xx Texas Instruments OMAP 5, DRA7xx, Sitara AM5xxx, AM57xx Cortex-A17 MediaTek MT6595, MT5595 MStar 6A928 Rockchip RK3288 Others Cortex-A12 ARMv7-Acompatible Apple A6, A6X, S1, S1P, S2, S3 Broadcom Brahma-B15 Marvell P4J Qualcomm Snapdragon S1, S2, S3, S4 Plus, S4 Pro, 600, 800 (Scorpion, Krait) ARMv8-A Others Cortex-A32
Applicationprocessors(64-bit)	ARMv8-A Cortex-A35 NXP i.MX8X MediaTek MT6799, MT8516 Rockchip RK3308 Cortex-A53 Actions GT7, S900, V700 Allwinner A133, A64, H5, H64, R18 Altera Stratix 10 Amlogic S9 Family, T96x Broadcom BCM2837 EZchip TILE-Mx100 HiSilicon Kirin 620, 650, 655, 658, 659, 930, 935 Marvell Armada PXA1928, Mobile PXA1908/PXA1936 MediaTek MT673x, MT675x, MT6761V, MT6762/V, MT6763T, MT6765/G/H, MT6795, MT8161, MT8163, MT8165, MT8732, MT8735, MT8752 NXP ARM S32, QorIQ LS1088, LS1043, i.MX8M Qualcomm Snapdragon 215, 410, 412, 415, 425, 427, 429, 430, 435, 439, 450, 610, 615, 616, 617, 625, 626, 630 Renesas RZ/V2M Rockchip RK3328, RK3368, RK3528, RK3562, RK3576 Samsung Exynos 7570, 7578, 7580, 7870, 7880 Texas Instruments Sitara AM6xxx UNISOC SC9820E, SC9832E, SC9860/GV, SL8541E Xilinx ZynqMP Cortex-A57 AMD Opteron A1100-series NXP QorIQ LS20xx Nvidia Tegra X1, Tegra X2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and 810 Samsung Exynos 7 5433, 7420 HiSilicon Kirin Hi1610 and Hi1612 Cortex-A72 AWS Graviton Broadcom BCM2711 HiSilicon Kirin 950, 955, Kunpeng 916 MediaTek MT6797/D/T/X, MT8173, MT8176, MT8693 MStar 6A938 Qualcomm Snapdragon 650, 652, 653 Rockchip RK3399, RK3576 NXP QorIQ LS2088, QorIQ LS1046A, QorIQ LX2160A, QorIQ LS1028A, i.MX8 Cortex-A73 Allwinner A333 Amlogic S922X Qualcomm Snapdragon 460, 632, 636, 660, 662, 665, 680, 685, 6s 4G Gen 1, 6s 4G Gen 2, 835 Samsung Exynos 7872, 7884, 7885, 7904, 9609, 9610, 9611 HiSilicon Kirin 710, 960, 970 MediaTek MT6771/V, MT6799, MT8183, MT8788 Others Cortex-A34 ARMv8-Acompatible Ampere eMAG Apple A7, A8, A8X, A9, A9X, A10, A10X Applied Micro X-Gene Cavium ThunderX Nvidia Tegra K1 (Denver), Tegra X2 (Denver2) Qualcomm Kryo, Falkor Samsung Exynos M1 (Mongoose), M2 (Mongoose) ARMv8.1-A ARMv8.1-Acompatible Cavium ThunderX2 ARMv8.2-A Cortex-A55 Allwinner A523 Rockchip RK3566, RK3568, RK3582, RK3588 Samsung Exynos 850 UNISOC SC9863/A, T158, T603, T7100 Cortex-A75 Qualcomm Snapdragon 670, 710, 712, 845, 850 Samsung Exynos 9820, 9825 MediaTek MT6769H/T/V/Z, MT6768, MT6779V UNISOC S512, S513, S562, S563, T310, T606, T610, T615, T616, T618, T619, T620, T700, T710, T7200, T7225, T7250, T7255, T7280, T740 Cortex-A76 ASR 8662 Allwinner A733 Google Tensor HiSilicon Kirin 810, 820, 980, 985, 990 Qualcomm Snapdragon 480(+), 675, 678, 720G, 730(G), 732G, 765(G), 768G, 855(+), 860, 7c (Gen 2), 8c, 8cx (Gen 2) Microsoft SQ1, SQ2 MediaTek MT6781, MT6785V, MT6789, MT6833V/P, MT6853V/T, MT6873, MT6875, MT8192, Dimensity 6020, 6080, 6100+, 6300(+), 6400 (Max) Rockchip RK3582, RK3588 Samsung Exynos 990 UNISOC S713, S752, S762, S913, T750, T760, T765, T770, T820, T8100, T8200, T9100 Cortex-A77 MediaTek Dimensity 1000(+) Qualcomm Snapdragon 690, 750G, 865(+), 870 HiSilicon Kirin 9000 Samsung Exynos 880, 980 Cortex-A78 Google Tensor G2 MediaTek MT6877, MT6878, MT6879, MT6891, MT6893, Dimensity 7020, 7025 (Ultra), 7030, 7050, 7060, 7100, 7300 (Energy/Max/Pro/Ultimate/Ultra/X), 7360 (Turbo), 7400(X), 8000, 8020, 8050, 8100, 8200 (Ultimate/Ultra), Kompanio 900T, 1200, 1380, 1300T Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1/4, 4(s) Gen 2, 695, 6 Gen 1, 6(s) Gen 3, 6s Gen 4, 778G(+), 780G, 782G, 888(+) Samsung Exynos 1080, 1280, 1330, 1380, 1480, 2100 UNISOC S715, T7300, T8300 Cortex-X1 Google Tensor, Tensor G2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888(+) Samsung Exynos 2100 Neoverse N1 Ampere Altra, Altra Max AWS Graviton2 Others Cortex-A65, Cortex-A65AE, Cortex-A76AE, Cortex-A78C, Cortex-X1C, Neoverse E1 ARMv8.2-Acompatible Apple A11 Fujitsu A64FX HiSilicon TaiShan v110 Nvidia Tegra Xavier (Carmel) Samsung Exynos M3 (Meerkat), M4 (Cheetah), M5 (Lion) ARMv8.3-A ARMv8.3-Acompatible Apple A12, A12X/A12Z, S4, S5 Marvell ThunderX3 ARMv8.4-A Neoverse V1 AWS Graviton3 ARMv8.4-Acompatible Apple A13, S6, S7, S8 ARMv8.5-A ARMv8.5-Acompatible Apple A14, M1 ARMv8.6-A ARMv8.6-Acompatible Ampere Computing AmpereOne, AmpereOne M Apple A15, A16, A17, M2, M3 ARMv8.7-A ARMv8.7-Acompatible Qualcomm Oryon ARMv9.0-A Cortex-A510 Google Tensor G3 MediaTek Dimensity 7200 (Pro/Ultra), 7350 Pro, 8300 (Ultra), 8350 (Apex/Elite/Extreme/Ultimate), 9000(+), 9200 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1/3, 7s/7+ Gen 2, 8(+) Gen 1, 8 Gen 2 Samsung Exynos 2200 Cortex-A710 MediaTek Dimensity 9000/9000+ Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1/3, 7s/7+ Gen 2, 8(+) Gen 1, 8 Gen 2 Samsung Exynos 2200 Cortex-A715 Google Tensor G3 MediaTek Dimensity 7200 (Pro/Ultra), 7350 Pro, 8300 (Ultra), 8350 (Apex/Elite/Extreme/Ultimate), 9200 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, 8 Gen 2 Cortex-X2 MediaTek Dimensity 9000/9000+ Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s/7+ Gen 2, 8(+) Gen 1 Samsung Exynos 2200 Cortex-X3 Google Tensor G3 MediaTek Dimensity 9200(+) Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Neoverse N2 Alibaba YiTian 710 Microsoft Azure Cobalt 100 Neoverse V2 AWS Graviton4 Google Axion Nvidia Grace ARMv9.2-A Cortex-A520 Google Tensor G4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, 7s/7+ Gen 3, 7(s) Gen 4, 8(s) Gen 3 Samsung Exynos 1580, 2400(e), 2500 Xiaomi Xring O1 Cortex-A720 Google Tensor G4 MediaTek Dimensity 9300(+), 9400e, 9500s Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, 7s/7+ Gen 3, 7(s) Gen4, 8(s) Gen 3, 8s Gen 4 Samsung Exynos 1580, 2400(e) Cortex-A725 MediaTek Dimensity 8400 (Ultra), 8450, 8500 (Elite) Samsung Exynos 2500 Xiaomi Xring O1 Cortex-X4 Google Tensor G4 MediaTek Dimensity 9300(+), Dimensity 9400(+,e), 9500s Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, 8(s) Gen 3, 8s Gen 4 Samsung Exynos 2400(e) Cortex-X925 MediaTek Dimensity 9400(+), 9500s Samsung Exynos 2500 Xiaomi Xring O1 Nvidia GB10 Superchip Neoverse N3 - Neoverse V3 AWS Graviton5 Microsoft Azure Cobalt 200 Nvidia Thor (V3AE) ARMv9.2-Acompatible Apple A18 Apple M4 ARMv9.3-A C1-Ultra MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Samsung Exynos 2600 C1-Premium MediaTek Dimensity 9500 C1-Pro MediaTek Dimensity 9500 Samsung Exynos 2600 C1-Nano TBD