Every year, Apple introduces a new A-series system-on-chip to accompany new iPhones. This year, the company took a whole new path. The new A16 processor is reserved for Pro models only, while standard models get the same A15 we learned of last year (the 5-core version of the GPU found in iPhone 13 Pro models).
The division between this year and the previous one is not the only thing that makes it unique. The A16 is, more than usual, a relatively minor evolution over the previous SoC. There are of course some changes, but the average user is unlikely to notice them. The differences between the A15 and A16 appear to be relatively small compared to Apple’s typical annual cadence.
Earlier this year, I made predictions about the A16 that were based on assumptions that certainly didn’t come to fruition. While some things turned out to be true, the A16’s performance boost is about half of what I predicted, and there are fewer major tech upgrades visible.
Here’s what’s new in the A16 and what you can expect from Apple’s first A-series “Pro” chip.
What has changed compared to the A15 Bionic?
At first glance, the A16 appears to have a similar architecture to the A15. There are two high-performance CPU cores and four high-efficiency CPU cores, five GPU cores and 16 neural engine cores to run AI and machine learning algorithms. Same as A15.
The chip is made using a new “4 nanometer” process from TSMC, according to Apple, making it the first processor of its kind in a smartphone.
As you observed Nikei Asia, it is an expensive change. The site found that the chip costs “more than 2.4 times more than the A15 version used in the iPhone 13 Pro Max released last year”. He also reports that Apple is paying $110 per chip, which has pushed iPhone production costs “to an all-time high.”
It must be said, to be honest, that Apple has not increased the price of the iPhone 14 Pro models compared to last year in some countries such as Mexico, although it has done so in Europe.
However, it should be noted that TSMC’s “N4” process is not a 4nm process in the strictest sense, as TSMC itself even calls it “an upgraded version of N5 technology”.
Although this is a more advanced process than previous A-series processors, it is not a true next-gen processor manufacturing process. For that, we will have to wait for the 3nm process next year.
The number of transistors has increased a little, to 16 billion (from 15 billion previously), and it is likely that most of this increased budget has been devoted to the new display engine (which drives the screen of the iPhone 14 Pro down to 1 Hz in always-on display mode and can push it up to 2,000 nits in direct sunlight), the memory controller, and the image signal processor.
As for the more general parts of the processor, it seems that they have hardly changed.
The processor’s high-performance cores are codenamed “Everest” and can reach 3.46 GHz, an increase of around 7% from the A15’s 3.24 GHz maximum for its cores. “Avalanche”.
The high-efficiency cores are called “Sawtooth” and reach a speed of 2.02 GHz, which is almost the same as the A15’s 2.01 GHz “Blizzard” cores. Although these cores have a new name, the architectural changes seem minor at best, as they don’t offer more performance than expected due to the increased clock speed.
The Neural Engine still has 16 cores, the same as in the A15. Apple claims to perform up to 17 trillion operations per second, an 8% increase over the A15’s 15.8 trillion. I think it’s probably the same layout, just a bit faster.
Perhaps the biggest change is the switch to LPDDR5 memory, which should provide 50% more bandwidth than the A15’s LPDDR4x memory.
Apple has actually moved to LPDDR5 in the M1 line of processors (in the M1 Pro, Max, and Ultra), which is based on the A14 chip architecture. The only real surprise is that the company waited so long to do this in its iPhone chips.
There may be very specific circumstances where a task is totally limited by the memory bandwidth of the A15, in which case the A16 should perform much better.
So, at first glance, we have what appears to be essentially a higher-speed A15, with a new display engine and possibly an image signal processor.
We have read that there are new security measures in the processor ROM. Not surprising, given Apple’s work force, both on the Material of the Softwareto make your devices difficult to hack.
CPU performance
Since the CPU architecture hasn’t changed much, just running at up to 7% higher clock speed (and with more available memory bandwidth), we should expect most landmarks of the CPU show performance gains of 10% or less.
A simple look at the numbers from Geekbench 5 shows us that indeed the maximum single-core performance of the CPU seems to have increased by around 8-10% compared to the A15.
Multi-core performance is slightly better, but these tests are likely to more easily overwhelm on-chip caches and therefore benefit from higher memory bandwidth.
GPU performance
The A16 Bionic has five GPU cores, just like the top-end A15, and I don’t think there’s been any change in architecture.
However, high-end 3D graphics are often very demanding on memory bandwidth, and I expect the switch to LPDDR5 memory to have a significant impact on this.
I have no idea about GPU clock speeds, but it would be reasonable to expect the cores to be able to achieve 7% more speed, just like high performance CPU cores.
If we take a look at one of the most demanding 3D graphics tests, the 3DMark Wild Life, performance ranges from 7% faster in the simplest modes to 19% faster in the “Wild Life” test Extreme Unlimited”.
This is a nice improvement, in line with what you would expect from a slight increase in clock speed and a big increase in memory bandwidth.
When using the GPU for general-purpose computations, as verified by the GeekBench Compute Score (see above), the performance gain is on the order of 7-8%.
A15+ would be a more appropriate name
There’s no doubt that the A16 isn’t just a “binned” version of the A15 (“binning” means the chips that are tested to perform better in manufacturing are separated and sold as a different model).
It’s a new chip. But there are no major architectural revisions that I can see, just minor revisions to improve maximum clock speed and power efficiency.
That’s less of a jump over last year’s model than we’re used to seeing in Apple’s annual iPhone update, a fact only underscored by the fact that standard models iPhone 14s continue to use last year’s A15 while still offering important features like Action Mode, Photonic Engine, and 4K Cinema Mode.
Apple didn’t tout any specific processor features as “new” other than the display engine (required to handle the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display and 1Hz refresh rate), and tagged it. actually marketed more directly against Android phones and the A13. , its flagship from three years ago.
The performance charts don’t look very impressive with a performance increase of 7-10%.
In this sense, I think that Apple should not have named this chip the A16. In most cases, this is an upgraded A15. Even the new “4nm” manufacturing process is best described as a modified 5nm process.
It’s probably not reasonable to expect breakthrough advancements every year, with entirely new architectures delivering 20% performance gains. A year of small refinements now and then is good, especially since Apple is currently ahead of the curve in smartphone performance.
But the naming should reflect that, and calling it A15+ or A15 Pro would have been a more honest representation of this chip.
Original article published on igamesnews.com.
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