Wednesday, April 15th 2020

Apple's A12Z SoC Features the Same A12X Silicon

With an introduction of new iPad Pro tablets, Apple has brought another new silicon to its offerings in the form of A12Z SoC. Following the previous king in tablet space, the A12X SoC, Apple has decided to update its silicon and now there is another, more advanced stepping in form of an A12Z SoC. Thanks to the report from TechInsights, their analysis has shown that the new SoC used in Apple's devices is pretty much the same compared to the A12X SoC of last year, except the GPU used. Namely, the configuration of A12X is translated into the A12Z - there are four Apple Vortex and four Apple Tempest cores for the CPU. There is a 128-bit memory bus designed for LPDDR4X memory, the same as the A12X.

What is different, however, is the GPU cluster configuration. In A12X there was a cluster filled with 7 working and one disabled A12-gen GPU core. In A12Z SoC all of the 8 GPUs present are enabled and working, and they are also of the same A12 generation. The new SoC is even built using the same N7 7 nm manufacturing process from TSMC. While we don't know the silicon stepping revision of the A12Z, there aren't any new features besides the additional GPU core.
Apple A12Z Bionic
Add your own comment

7 Comments on Apple's A12Z SoC Features the Same A12X Silicon

#1
Nater
expect* except

- The Grammer Police.
Posted on Reply
#2
Daven
Me thinks the virus postponed whatever new chip was planned.
Posted on Reply
#3
bencrutz
Naterexpect* except

- The Grammer Police.
Grammar

yeah, likely intentional :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#4
notb
Mark LittleMe thinks the virus postponed whatever new chip was planned.
Of course. Products launched in March, hardware probably finalized in 2019Q3, maybe earlier...
Posted on Reply
#5
HABAR
It's similar to A12X, but it's powerful.
Note: I am not an Apple fanboi :D
Posted on Reply
#6
Cheeseball
Not a Potato
This is why if you already have the 2018 iPad Pro, there is no reason to upgrade to the 2020 version, unless you need 6 GB of RAM (if you didn't have 2018's 1 TB version) and the LIDAR camera.

They are probably saving A13X for this October with the mini-LED display panels.
Posted on Reply
#7
swirl09
I literally just got it for Wifi6, I might be annoyed if one does launch in Oct with a new chip, the rumour was just regarding the display. My 1st gen is still working fine, but streaming games via Steam app just needed a little more help.
Posted on Reply
Dec 26th, 2024 00:55 EST change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts