Buzz
Apple unveiled its latest smartphone lineup (2021) to the market, accompanied by the powerful Apple A15 Bionic chip inside. Let's delve into the details of the Apple A15 Bionic chip to see its remarkable performance.
1. What is the Apple A15 Bionic Chip?
The Apple A15 Bionic chip made its debut on the iPhone 13 series, released on September 15, 2021. It's considered one of the leading mobile processors globally, boasting robust performance. The chip features a six-core 64-bit CPU designed by Apple, utilizing ARMv8 architecture with two high-performance cores called Avalanche and four energy-efficient cores called Blizzard. It also includes either a 4-core or 5-core GPU designed by Apple. Manufactured on TSMC's latest 5nm+ process, Apple has confirmed that the A15 Bionic incorporates a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of achieving 15.8 trillion operations per second. This enables enhancements in machine learning, providing a boost to features like Siri and Live Text in the Camera.
2. How Powerful is its Performance?
The 6-core CPU delivers a 40% performance boost, while the 4 or 5-core GPU offers an impressive 80% leap in graphics performance compared to the previous generation chipset. The A15 chip can handle even the most demanding tasks - from rich graphic gaming to professional applications used by designers, pilots, doctors, and more. Apple states that the graphic processing power of the A15 Bionic is '30% faster than the leading competitors'. The Exynos 2200 chip equipped in Samsung's flagship devices offers performance equivalent to Apple A14 on the iPhone 12 series, whereas the Apple A15 outperforms it by 13.7%. Therefore, the Apple A15 is hailed as one of the top chips globally, surpassing chipsets from Android manufacturers.
3. Advancements on the 5nm Process
Built on the latest process from TSMC with the second-generation 5nm manufacturing process, also known as N5P. This aids in astonishing power efficiency on the chip. Additionally, the Apple A15 is equipped with up to 4 energy-efficient Blizzard cores, estimated to save about 15% energy compared to the A14 Bionic, resulting in much more efficient power usage on the iPhone 13 series.
4. The Mighty 16-Core Neural Engine
Advanced machine learning (ML) functions are supported by the 16-core Neural Engine and new ML accelerators in the CPU, providing ML tasks that are twice as fast as its predecessor (Apple A14). Combined with the CPU and GPU, the Neural Engine enables apps to deliver the next-level experience, such as image recognition and natural language processing. Powerful new ML features include Live Text, using on-device intelligence to recognize text in images that users can interact with and even translate text from images into seven different languages.
5. Enhanced Display Image Processing
Apple supports adaptive refresh rates from 10Hz to 120Hz, providing fast frame rates when users need it and reducing scan frequency to maintain battery life when they don't. Alongside faster GPU performance, the touch co-processor is always on and designed to work seamlessly with iOS 15, making gestures, animations, and activities like gaming feel faster and ultra-responsive.
6. Enhancing Device Photography Capabilities
Apple introduces a feature called 'Cinematic mode' utilizing the advanced neural tools of the A15 processor to detect faces in a video scene to determine if the subject is facing the camera, looking away, or in the distance. The A15 manages this impressive portrait blur effect through Dolby Vision but only at 1080p resolution, indicating that Apple is pushing the limits of what's possible. Apple aims to deliver this in 4K quality, but that might have to wait another year.
7. Integrating Latest 5G Technology
The world is rapidly transitioning to 5G, and iPhones offer an advanced 5G experience, changing how users connect, share, and enjoy content. The Apple A15 is paired with the Snapdragon X60 modem. The X60 supports maximum speeds similar to the X55 (far surpassing what any service provider can offer right now), but it will provide even faster speeds thanks to improved millimeter wave technology. Perhaps the biggest improvement could be in battery life, as the X60 is manufactured on the 5nm process, while the X55 uses the 7nm process. This means a smaller chip, lower energy consumption, and perhaps less battery drain when using 5G.
8. Apple Fits Everyone
With incredibly powerful performance, capable of handling any game currently on the market smoothly, as well as serving well in daily tasks. In terms of image quality, it's significantly better than the previous generation, coupled with improvements in video recording. This affirms that this is a chipset suitable for those who want a powerful device for gaming or those who are passionate about photography, videography, and video editing on their phone, making it a top choice as of now (2021). Or if you're someone who enjoys being at the forefront of technology, passionate about products from Apple, then this is a product you cannot overlook.
