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Besides a larger display, Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 also may feature a faster A8 processor that pushes the system-on-a-chip beyond the 2.0 GHz threshold, claims GforGames citing Chinese media source cnBeta [Google Translate].

chipworks_a7_floorplan.jpg
A7 transistor die photo from Chipworks
According to the latest information, Apple will reportedly increase the CPU frequency of its next-generation SoC to 2.0 GHz or higher per core, up from the 1.3 GHz (iPhone 5s and Retina iPad mini) or 1.4 GHz (iPad Air) of the A7 processor. The chip will keep the 64-bit, dual-core architecture of the current generation A7 CPU, but will be manufactured with a 20-nm process instead of the A7's 28-nm. TSMC and Samsung are thought be the primary manufacturers that are producing the A8 chip for Apple's upcoming iOS devices.

Though competing phones ship with quad-core processors, Apple's possible decision to stay with a dual-core design may be the result of the company using a custom-designed chip optimized for iOS and not an off-the-shelf solution. This optimization already has been shown in the current dual-core A7, which offers "desktop class" performance that outperforms other players in the mobile phone marketplace. In its detailed analysis of the A7 after launch, AnandTech found that even though the A7's performance is top-notch, there was still room for improvement as almost no iOS app took full advantage of A7's available processing power.

Article Link: Apple's Next-Generation A8 Chip Said to Top 2 GHz, Remain Dual-Core
 

I8P'CS

Suspended
Jul 29, 2010
355
31
More than enough power for a phone. Although they'll scream they still want "quad core" ask them why?
 

theanimala

macrumors 6502
Mar 2, 2007
440
228
I too find the A7 chip fast enough. What they need to do is add more ram as that would add the most noticeable performance input.
 

walkthruwalls

macrumors member
Apr 30, 2014
66
28
waters of Thailand
"almost no iOS app took full advantage of A7's available processing power" -Anandtech

That's coz developers are still focused on supporting all previous hardware to have the biggest market possible for more profits. Its only logical. But kudos to Apple for continuing with their processor roadmap. I hope this leads credence to more planned features like "desktop class" enhancements and eminent merging a few months from now. Mobile Era.
 

Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,688
4,399
Here
This seems impressive. I trust Apple to make these decisions so I won't complain about dual vs quad and whatever.


BUT, at just a glance I thought the title said "A8 to feature 2GB of RAM" and was like YES!
 

scupking

macrumors 6502a
Dec 14, 2010
766
355
No need for quad core in phones or tablets. Dual core and 2GB-4GBs of ram is perfect. Give us more battery life...
 

Truthfulie

macrumors regular
Dec 18, 2013
248
0
I've never felt that I need more CPU power on my iOS devices thus far while using iPhone 5 and iPad Mini Retina. I couldn't care less about the CPU performance since it will be more than enough than I'll ever need. I do however feel the need for RAM. Please Apple, get with the times and give us at least 2GB of RAM so Safari doesn't have to crash all the time.
 

lincolntran

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2010
843
471
This make me feel so funny inside when I hear android phones sporting quad and octa cores and still inefficient as hell. I'm not saying android phones are slow. I'm saying they're very inefficient in their use of resources and try to make up for it with too many cores!
 

gmanist1000

macrumors 68030
Sep 22, 2009
2,832
824
FINALLY some specs. The past year has been part leaks over and over and over. Finally something different.
 

El Hikaru

macrumors regular
Dec 3, 2013
221
79
I am not a familiar with CPU tech, but have some though about it.
PS3's chip was said to have so much power that not even the latest games take full advantage of the computing power of the chip.
On the other hand, frame rate drop when a horde of zombies chase after me. Clearly, PS3 system had bottle neck somewhere.
How many cores, 64 bit, how much ram, system overhead, such and such are all ear candies.
I would say, it seems apple is making a wise movement to stay with 2 cores, thinner fabrication, and probably more RAM.
The important key is, zombies can chase after me without making short distance teleportations.
 

CausticPuppy

macrumors 68000
May 1, 2012
1,536
68
I too find the A7 chip fast enough. What they need to do is add more ram as that would add the most noticeable performance input.

I think we're at the point where iOS hardware is outpacing the software. A8 will be wicked fast (approaching Macbook Air speeds in terms of raw processing power), but there are very few apps that can even use the A7 to its full potential.
 

CallOfDuty

macrumors 6502
Jun 23, 2012
330
2
While there is much to celebrate about the increase in performance and the obvious lower power consumption from die shrink, I would prefer Apple upgrade the architecture combined with a slight increase in clock speeds. This will not only bring even more significant power savings from the new architecture, but the slight increase in clock speeds could bring increasing returns to scale on performance. This, combined with the 20nm manufacturing process, would make the A8 the most powerful chip yet. Perhaps even more than the upcoming Snapdragon 810.
 

Michael Goff

Suspended
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,421
I think we're at the point where iOS hardware is outpacing the software. A8 will be wicked fast (approaching Macbook Air speeds in terms of raw processing power), but therehh are very few apps that can even use the A7 to its full potential.

You mean the MBA from 2009, right? Yeah, it is definitely approaching those speeds.
 
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