Apple’s A12Z Processor Confirmed to Reuse A12X Silicon

Last month Apple launched its newest technology of iPad Pro tablets, and far to the shock of many, the brand new iDevices didn’t include a high-end variant of Apple’s latest A13 SoC. Instead, the iPads used an SoC that Apple was calling the A12Z, clearly indicating that it was based mostly on the identical Vortex/Tempest structure as the sooner A12X, which was used within the 2018 iPad Pros. The uncommon transfer from Apple left us suspecting that the A12Z could not have even been a brand new chip, however reasonably a brand new bin of the A12X, and right now we lastly have affirmation of that concept due to TechInsights.

In a short tweet, the technical evaluation and reverse engineering agency printed a notice asserting their findings, together with side-by-side die pictures evaluating A12Z and A12X. In brief, the 2 chips are seemingly similar, with each final purposeful block in precisely the identical place and the identical dimension on A12Z because it was A12X.

Our evaluation confirms #Apple #A12Z GPU chip discovered inside #iPadPro (mannequin A2068) is similar as A12X predecessor. A report of our findings is underway & will likely be obtainable as a part of TechInsights’ #Logic Subscription. Learn extra right here https://t.co/WWQqlPorNF pic.twitter.com/RsQEADpZsc

— TechInsights (@techinsightsinc) April 13, 2020

While TechInsights’ die shot evaluation doesn’t suss out some finer particulars akin to chip steppings – whether or not A12Z is even on a more moderen stepping, or if it’s the identical stepping because the A12X that Apple was delivery in 2018 for the IPad Pro launch – it’s clear that by way of silicon, A12Z doesn’t convey something new to the desk.

Instead, the notable modifications between the 2 chips is of their binning/configuration: whereas the A12X solely ever shipped with 7 of its GPU clusters enabled, A12Z ships with all Eight enabled. And whereas a small change within the grand image of issues, it is sensible for Apple to lastly allow the 8^th cluster for a bit extra efficiency. A12X is produced on TSMC’s 7nm line, and when it was launched in 2018, it was one of many greatest 7nm chips being churned out. So Apple ought to be having fun with significantly better yields 18 months later, lowering the necessity to bin to a decrease spec to salvage chips.

As for why Apple would decide to re-use A12X for his or her 2020 tablets as an alternative of commissioning an A13X, whereas we are able to solely speculate, it virtually actually comes all the way down to economics, because the pill market is kind of completely different from the smartphone market. Apple is just about unchallenged so far as high-performance Arm tablets go, and even then, the variety of iPads they promote has at all times been a drop within the bucket in comparison with the variety of iPhones they promote. So there are fewer units to amortize the prices of chip growth towards, and all of the whereas chip growth prices are persevering with to rise with every new technology of photolithography know-how. In brief, sooner or later it has to cease making sense to create new chip designs on a yearly foundation for mid-volume merchandise, and Apple could very effectively have lastly hit that mark with their pill SoCs.