What kind of processor is this? How much performance improvement? Support 5g? We collect all kinds of rumors and reports and try to find answers to some key questions:
Question 1: will A14 really introduce a 5nm process?
In April this year, TSMC's 5nm chip has entered the stage of risk production, and will officially produce 5nm chip in the first half of 2020. Apple is TSMC's most important customer, and next year's A14 bionic is likely to be manufactured with 5nm EUV technology.
It is also said that TSMC is making A14 bionic chip samples, and Apple may have received some test samples in September.
A13 bionic is made with 7 nanometer technology, which is 20% faster than the previous generation processor and 40% lower energy consumption. Apple has bigger batteries for the iPhone 11, and the thickness of the phone has increased a little. It is estimated that the energy consumption of 5-nm chips will be further reduced.
Question 2: is A14 the first 5nm chip in the industry?
The 2020 iPhone is likely to be equipped with A14 bionic processor and snapdragon x55 modem, and Apple's A14 processor will be manufactured with 5 nanometer technology.
In other words, Apple's CPU will evolve from 7Nm to 5nm next year. When the chip area is the same, the 5nm chip is more efficient. However, A14 is likely not to become the first 5nm chip in the industry. Huawei's next generation of Kirin processor will also be manufactured with 5nm technology, and it may be launched first. Last year, Huawei took the lead in launching the world's first 7 nanometer chip Kirin 980, and the new Kirin 990 is also the first chip to integrate 5g modem.
Huawei will generally launch new chips at IFA, earlier than the iPhone.
Question 3: will new technology drive up costs?
Although TSMC will produce 5nm mobile phone chips next year, 5nm technology is mainly used for 5g and Internet of things devices. Although there are many rumors that the iPhone will use 5g nano chips next year, the rumors have not been confirmed by apple.
While 5nm technology can add more transistors to the chip, the cost of the chip will rise. In addition, TSMC will make A14 chip for apple, but the chip is not integrated with Xiaolong x55g modem on one chip, that is to say, x55 will appear on the main board, such a design will take up more space and expand the size of components.
Due to the expansion of motherboard size and the new technology of 5nm, the cost of manufacturing components will increase by 35%. In addition, the x55 5g modem will emit a lot of heat. Apple has to solve the problem of heat dissipation and equip a better circuit system, which will further increase the cost.
Question 4: how much is the performance improved?
In chip design, Apple has become the industry leader. Apple has been developing ARM processors since 2007. How does Apple CPU improve every time it introduces a new CPU? Let's review:
——A10-a11: single core performance increased by 25%, multi-core performance increased by 80%, and graphics performance increased by 30%.
——A9-a10: 40% improvement in CPU performance and 50% improvement in graphics performance.
——A8-a9: 70% improvement in CPU performance and 90% improvement in graphics performance.
——A7-a8: 25% improvement in CPU performance and 50% improvement in graphics performance.
——A6-a7: Double CPU and graphics performance.
Please note that the a10-a11 data is from the test, and the following numbers are provided by Apple itself.
At present, the A13 processor (7Nm) used by apple is much stronger than the A12 in 2018, with performance improvement of 20% and energy consumption reduction of 40%.
We have reason to believe that next year's A14 processor should also have a significant improvement in performance and energy consumption.
Q5: is 5g modem built in the chip?
Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported that Apple will launch three iPhones next year, only one of which will carry a Qualcomm 5g x55 modem.
Please note that x55 is an independent multi-mode modem chip supporting 2G, 3G, 4G and 5g networks. It will work together with Apple's A14 processor, but the two chips are not integrated into one.
Obviously, apple is a step behind in 5g. Samsung has launched the exynos 990 processor, which is made of 7Nm technology, combined with the 7Nm modem 51235g to form the next generation flagship 5g platform. At IFA 2019, Qualcomm has shown that both midrange snapdragon 600 and 700 chips will be integrated with 5g modems. The cost of integrated chip is lower, which is a very important advantage. Manufacturers can launch cheaper 5g mobile phones.