Roger Fingas
Apple's next-generation mobile processor may be called the A10 and leap ahead to a six-core architecture, according to a rumor from Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
The chip should be manufactured using a 10- or 14-nanometer process, with Samsung and TSMC competing for orders, the Weibo source said. Allegedly Intel might also make a play if Apple chooses to go with 14 nanometers.
The source previously made some accurate predictions about the A9 processor used in Apple devices launching this fall, but a switch to six cores may be unlikely for several reasons.
The A9 is a dual-core chip, making use of proprietary, 64-bit technology to match or surpass third-party options like Qualcomm's Snapdragon series. Apple has stuck to a dual-core design even as other processors have upgraded to quad-, hexa-, or even octocore layouts. If the company does add more cores, four may be the most logical next step.
Such a change would also probably come at the expense of battery life, something Apple has been struggling with for years. The company waited until the iPad Air 2 to begin upgrading mobile devices to 2 gigabytes of RAM for similar reasons.
The source suggested however that Apple is interested in further exploiting multithreading, which could improve efficiency when handling several tasks at once. iPad multitasking was a central focus of last week's iOS 9 update.
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
William Gallagher
159 Comments
Switching from two cores to four cores could improve battery life. Power-saving mode typically shuts down all the cores except one. One core operation with a quad-core chip is likely to consume less power than one core operation with a dual-core chip.
The article makes it sound like upgrading to 2GB ram had a significant power impact.. which is incorrect. a 1.35v memory chip bank thats 2gb takes same power as a 4 or 8 GB bank of memory.. Memory had NOTHING to do with power usage. Apple has not 'struggled' with power as much as made strategic decisions with power and how to manage it. My iPhone 6 right now out runs the majority of Android phones, and my iPhone 6s Plus will last a few days.
Would be fine with me if it also comes with a much more powerful graphics system so it could work with a regular laptop or iMac. Otherwise, it seems like it would only really work on an iPad Pro since having something this powerful might be a waste for a regular iPhone.
Wasn't it about two weeks ago Digitimes rumored TSMC had won ALL of the A10 using 16nm manufacturing? ???? Now this just HAD to put Samsung in the mix to help the company look better, which might be needed come Friday when the iPhones 6S/Plus are torn apart to discover TSMC being the A9X manufacturer after all.
If there is anything to this rumor it is more likely the A10X and not A10