Apple A7

Apple A7
The A7 processor
General information
LaunchedSeptember 20, 2013 (APL0698)
November 1, 2013 (APL5698)
DiscontinuedMarch 21, 2016 (APL5698)
March 21, 2017 (APL0698)
Designed byApple Inc.
Common manufacturer
Product codeS5L8960X[2][3]
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate1.3 GHz[4] to 1.4 GHz[5]
Cache
L1 cachePer core: 64 KB instruction + 64 KB data[6]
L2 cache1 MB shared[6]
L3 cache4 MB[5]
Architecture and classification
ApplicationMobile
Technology node28 nm[1]
MicroarchitectureCyclone[6]
Instruction setARMv8-A:[7][8] A64, A32, T32
Physical specifications
Cores
GPUPowerVR G6430 (quad-core)[9]
History
PredecessorsApple A6 (iPhone)
Apple A6X (iPad)
SuccessorsApple A8 (iPhone)
Apple A8X (iPad)

The Apple A7 is a 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. It first appeared in the iPhone 5S, which was announced on September 10, 2013, and the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, which were both announced on October 22, 2013. Apple states that it is up to twice as fast and has up to twice the graphics power compared to its predecessor, the Apple A6.[10] It is the first 64-bit SoC to ship in a consumer smartphone or tablet computer.[11] On March 21, 2017, the iPad mini 2 was discontinued, ending production of A7 chips. The latest software update for systems using this chip was iOS 12.5.7, released on January 23, 2023, as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 in 2019.

  1. ^ a b Tanner, Jason; Morrison, Jim; James, Dick; Fontaine, Ray; Gamache, Phil (September 20, 2013). "Inside the iPhone 5s". Chipworks. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  2. ^ Gurman, Mark (July 31, 2013). "Apple's upcoming A7 iPhone chip will have Samsung components, code inside iOS 7 reveals". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  3. ^ Klug, Brian (October 24, 2013). "iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina Display include Qualcomm's MDM9615 baseband". AnandTech. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013. It isn't news, but I've also confirmed that there are the appropriate references to Apple's S5L8960X SoC (otherwise known as Apple's A7) in the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display software bundles, same as the iPhone 5s.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AnandTech-iPhone5s-A7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AnandTech-iPadAir-CPU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference AnandTech-iPhone5s-Cyclone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference AnandTech-iPhone5s-64-bit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference LLVM-5s-ARMv8-A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference AnandTech-iPhone5s-GPU was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Apple Announces iPhone 5s—The Most Forward-Thinking Smartphone in the World" (Press release). Apple. September 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  11. ^ Lai Shimpi, Anand (September 10, 2013). "Apple Announces A7, World's First 64-bit Smartphone SoC". AnandTech. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.