“Apple’s A7 was a breakthrough in processing power for mobile devices,” Lou Hattersley reports for Macworld UK. “The A7 was the first ever smartphone CPU to offer dazzling 64-bit performance, and still economical enough to offer all-day battery.”
“We’re going to take a look inside the Apple A7 and see why Apple produced a chip so much more powerful than its rivals,” Hattersley reports. “The Apple A7 is undeniably powerful, but what we’re not so sure about is why. We also look at what Apple has planned for the Apple A7 processor.”
“The iPhone 5S was the first ever smartphone to ship with a 64-bit processor, and Apple claimed that the A7 chip offers desktop-class computing,” Hattersley reports. “Recent analysis has shown that this is not an idle claim; the A7 is thoroughbred amongst chipsets.”
“The Apple A7 is not a chip, as such, but a System on Chip (SoC) that combines multiple components into a single chip,” Hattersley reports. “Think of it as the insides of a computer (processor, graphics card, sensors) miniaturized into a single component.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple leads. The rest follow at a great distance.
Related articles:
Qualcomm insider: Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip set off a panic, it ‘hit us in the gut’ – December 16, 2013
Qualcomm exec who dissed Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip as ‘marketing gimmick’ quietly reassigned, removed from company website – October 25, 2013
Qualcomm backpedals from exec’s ‘marketing gimmick’ comment about Apple’s 64-bit iPhone 5s – October 9, 2013
Outclassed, 32-bit antique dealer Qualcomm calls Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip a ‘marketing gimmick’ – October 3, 2013
iPhone, iPad also-rans struggle to realize Apple’s 64-bit mobile computing achievement – November 22, 2013
Apple’s 64-bit ARM business on track to replicate now-hapless Intel’s x86 model – November 19, 2013
Samsung won’t have an answer for Apple’s revolutionary 64-bit A7 processor anytime soon – November 7, 2013
Apple’s 64-bit iPad Air benchmarks are insane – October 30, 2013
Apple’s revolutionary 64-bit iPhone 5s’ graphics are insane; competitors blown away (with benchmarks) – October 28, 2013
Apple’s revolutionary 64-bit iPhone 5s is world’s fastest smartphone; smokes Samsung’s plastic Galaxy S4 – October 20, 2013
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Apple’s 64-bit A7 already powering advanced new audio, video features in apps and games – October 4, 2013
Apple takes the high-end with their 64-bit A7; leaves rivals to scrap for survival in low-end – October 2, 2013
Apple’s 64-bit A7 is no gimmick: New iPhone 5s offers major performance leap – September 25, 2013
Ars Technica: Apple’s Touch ID and 64-bit A7 are deceptively large advances in the iPhone’s evolution – September 24, 2013
Apple iPhone 5s reviews are universally positive, many crown iPhone 5s the best smartphone – September 19, 2013
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John Gruber reviews Apple iPhone 5s: ‘This is what innovation, real innovation, looks like’ – September 18, 2013
AnandTech reviews iPhone 5s: Apple’s 64-bit A7 is seriously impressive – September 18, 2013
TechCrunch reviews Apple iPhone 5s: The best smartphone available – September 18, 2013
USA Today’s Baig reviews Apple iPhone 5s: ‘Makes the best smartphone even better’ – September 18, 2013
Mossberg reviews Apple iPhone 5s: ‘The best smartphone on the market’ – September 18, 2013
Dead Link MDN!!!
It’s a very low IQ read so far…:\
And it still can’t run Flash.
Try: http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iphone/why-apples-a7-chip-is-so-much-better-than-other-smartphones-3512169/
It’s little more than a rehash of AnandTech’s article: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7910/apples-cyclone-microarchitecture-detailed
BUT, if you rehash more than 2 weeks later it doesn’t count as plagiarism. 😉
I hope that the innovative news of Apple’s A7 64-bit chip with a System on Chip (SoC) does not get around. Tim Cook and Apple’s board have tried to keep it quiet. Any time people see an add from Apple, is about the plastic 32-bit colored iPhone or chapters in your life. This chip and all the other great things that Apple is doing isn’t for public knowledge or Apple would ADVERTISE IT EVERY DAY ON MORE THAN ONE TYPE OF ADD!!!!!!
I’d like to “add” it’s actually about ad’s. Though there are known ADD types around here.
As long as you are playing grammar police, here’s one for you:
Actually it’s the spelling police but I wouldn’t expect you to know that. I’m excellent at grammar but sometimes the fingers type on autopilot and I DO actually think about apostrophe s grammar legality and get it right 99.9% of the time thanks.
If Microsoft built a custom chip it would burn holes in the owners pants and irradiate their testicles
Remember the days when we thought we had to run pro apps on a “486” (dating me, I know?)
That was when a 500 meg (not GB) HD was in my 486 with a WHOPPING 8 megs of RAM trying to run IDEAS and later SolidWorks.
When you look at the processing power, RAM & storage in the iPhone, you realize how far we have come in 15 years.
It is easy to see why developers are so enthralled with the iOS hardware, because it can do the heavy lifting required for even complex tasks.
Any developer or company of any size today that isn’t already writing code for iOS 7 is facing the end an extinction event without realizing what is happening.
Luxury!
My career started on Tandem mainframes that the 486 would put to shame.
-jcr
I worked on the USCG precursor to GPS in the early 80″s and we had DEC PDP8’s and HP 9827″s prolly 64B ram and cassette tape for storage. These units had a 24 character LED matrix display!
Ah, the HP 9830…came with 2K of RAM. Could expand to 8K, for another $6000. $1/byte! My MacBook Air’s RAM alone would have cost $8 billion back then.
It was a great desktop computer!
I had an abacus.
Zug zug Lana! Zug zug Lana!
What good is a 64-Bit architecture when the iPad doesn’t have a file system and can’t even support printer drivers.
64-Bit will mean something when Cook stops crippling the iPad, and either writes more advanced features into iOS or lets the iPad also run a version of OSX.
I understand they don’t want to cannabilize their Mac business, but they can’t have it both ways.
It doesn’t support printer drivers, because what will happen is users will just fill the machine up with thousands of useless code, and also, why would it need drivers when it’s designed to sync with printers using AirPlay, or AirPrint, or whatever the facility is called.
We’re talking about a device that’s designed to be used with a regular domestic A3/A4 printer, not a plethora of fancy large-format commercial printers.
Your comment makes no real sense.
The iPad was released 4 years and 2 weeks ago. Given its short life and clueless media at launch I’d say it’s come quite far and is more capable than anyone would have imagined.
iOS does not need a file system. My laptop has so many folders inside folders that are inside folder. The only way I can find files is through. Search and document tags. With. That said iOS needs better search. Searching should be able to look at document libraries looking for matching file names. If I have a Pages documents titled “Bugs” iOS search should locate the file “Bugs” and open it up in the correct App.
Printer driver?!? Have you not heard of AirPrint? It works great. What I do wish for is easier mobile printing such as a direct connect AirPrint.
But, but, didn’t that guy from Qualcomm say the A7 was just a gimmick?
They sent that guy to Siberia for slinging that. He should have known better.
It’s ok if it’s a rehash of a a similar story. The good thing is that it’s a constant reminder to Samsung/Google/iHaters that They are far behind and need to speed up their copying process. 😝
I am 90% convinced that Apple is preparing a new cheaper thinner MacBook Air that runs Mac OS X on A7 or A8.
There are so many advantages for Apple if it does that. More control over laptop miniaturization, power management and higher margins as they vacuum up some of Intel’s profits.
Also, a cheaper MacBook Air would cut deep into the high/mid price ranges of Windows laptops providing Apple a huge new opportunity to grow, sucking up Microsoft profits to boot.
Apple is taking its time, but I wouldn’t be surprised that they are planning to aggressively restart the PC wars now that Microsoft has shown their vulnerability.
Also a cheaper A8 OS X MacMini. Time for Apple to deal the killing blow.
Nevermark, I think you are on the mark!
Consider for a minute what would happen if the two palm rests or the trackpad & palm rests on the MBAir became a large touch pad … a touch pad that could also be an iOS screen.
This article gives a better analysis of the upcoming A8:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1939661-apples-a8-what-it-will-be-and-why-it-matters
The only problem being the powerful A7 is severely RAM constrained: I can’t open a second web page without having the first one reload when I come back to it. It limits it’s power and cuts down the longevity of my device.
All they need is to put this in the ATV.