Apple A5

Apple A5
Apple A5 (S5L8940 version) chip
General information
LaunchedMarch 11, 2011
DiscontinuedOctober 4, 2016
Designed byApple Inc.
Common manufacturer
Product codeS5L8940X (A5)
S5L8942X (A5R2)
S5L8947X (A5R3)
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate800 MHz to 1 GHz
Cache
L1 cache32 KB instruction + 32 KB data[1]
L2 cache1 MB[1]
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node45 nm to 32 nm
MicroarchitectureARM Cortex-A9
Instruction setARM, Thumb-2
Physical specifications
Cores
  • 1 (third-generation Rev A Apple TV)
    2 (iPad 2, iPhone 4S, third-generation Apple TV [one core is disabled], fifth-generation iPod Touch, first-generation iPad Mini)
GPUPowerVR SGX543MP2 (dual-core)[2]
Products, models, variants
Variant
History
PredecessorApple A4
SuccessorApple A6

The Apple A5 is a 32-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, and manufactured by Samsung.[3][4] The first product Apple featured an A5 in was the iPad 2. Apple claimed during their media event on March 2, 2011, that the ARM Cortex-A9 central processing unit (CPU) in the A5 is up to two times faster than the CPU in the Apple A4, and the PowerVR SGX543MP2 graphics processing unit (GPU) in the A5 is up to nine times faster than the GPU in the A4.[5] Apple also claimed that the A5 uses the same amount of power as the A4.

The last operating system update Apple provided for a mobile device containing an A5 (iPad 2 CDMA, iPhone 4S, and first-generation iPad Mini cellular models) was iOS 9.3.6, which was released on July 22, 2019, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 10 in 2016. The latest operating system update Apple has provided for an Apple TV containing an A5 (third-generation Apple TV and third-generation Rev A Apple TV) was Apple TV Software 7.9, which was released on March 14, 2022.[6]

  1. ^ a b Gowri, Vivek; Lal Shimpi, Anand (March 28, 2012). "The Apple iPad Review (2012): The A5X SoC". Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "Apple iPad 2 GPU Performance Explored: PowerVR SGX543MP2 Benchmarked". AnandTech. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  3. ^ "Updated: Samsung fabs Apple A5 processor". EETimes.com. March 12, 2011. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  4. ^ "Apple's A5 chip is built by Samsung". The Guardian. December 16, 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2012. "The powerful A5 processor, which uses technology licensed from Britain's ARM Holdings, is designed by Apple in California, by a team formerly part of PA Semi – an American chip design company that Apple bought in April 2008."
  5. ^ "Apple iPad 2 feature page". Apple.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  6. ^ "About Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation) software updates". Apple Support. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2020.