The iPhone is an engineering marvel powered by sheer innovation. Time and time again, Apple has delivered a state-of-the-art smartphone that offers its loyal customers an experience that any other smartphone manufacturer cannot match.
The iPhone’s success can largely be attributed to the powerful and efficient processors that outshine competitor smartphones. Read on as we discuss the processor chips that allow the device to edge other smartphones.
A Timeline of iPhone Processors
Until 2013, Apple used the same 32-bit ARMv7 processor architecture as Qualcomm for their smartphone devices. Qualcomm is one of the leading smartphone processor chip manufacturers globally, and most Android devices use processors made by the company.
Before the launch of the iPhone 5S, Apple surprised the world by announcing a 64-bit smartphone processor. The A7 processor became Apple’s first in-house-built 64-bit system on a chip (SoC) in 2013, and it was twice as fast as its predecessor, the 32-bit A6. The iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini 2 all shipped with the A7 processor.
Qualcomm did not expect Apple to launch a 64-bit processor, which gave Apple a huge lead over Qualcomm (who would not launch a 64-bit processor until Apple’s third 64-bit processor). The subsequent release of the A8 and A9 processors meant that Apple processors were far superior for a long time to come. Since then, Apple has continued improving its SoC designs to boost performance and efficiency.
The iPhone 13, launched in September 2021, will be powered by the latest generation A15 Bionic SoC.
Made by Apple, for Apple
A significant reason that iPhones can outshine and outlast Android smartphones is because of their processors. Unlike other processor chip manufacturers such as Qualcomm, Apple does not need to market its processors to mobile phone manufacturers elsewhere.
Apple builds processors for itself; this means that they have absolute control over the design and performance of their chips. They do not need to rely on someone else for their processors, and they can design what’s best for the next iPhone or iPad without much worry.
Other smartphone manufacturers do not have this luxury and depend on Qualcomm or Exynos for processor chips. Those chips are not necessarily designed for a specific smartphone and so suffer in performance and longevity.
By designing their processor architecture, Apple can tweak the designs to suit their vision for the next iPhone. Complete control over the design and production of processor chips makes it possible for the iPhones to perform as brilliantly as they do.
A Bigger Processor Chip
A smartphone’s performance depends on many factors, and the size of the processor is a significant factor. iPhones can perform better because they have quite literally a much bigger processor when compared to Android devices. Apple doesn't need to worry about whether its chips will be too big or expensive for other smartphone manufacturers.
By designing their processor architecture, Apple controls everything about the processor chip used by their iPhones. This includes the number of CPU cores, the size of the performance cache, and the overall size of the processor.
High-Performance Cache
Cache memory is a vital aspect of modern smartphones. It is much faster than the RAM and solves a significant SoC design problem. A cache can be thought of running at the same speed as the CPU; this allows the CPU to spend less time waiting for data and, as a result, boosts performance considerably.
Related: How Does CPU Cache Work? What Are L1, L2, and L3 Cache?
Apple SoC designers include a considerably big CPU cache, something that is not feasible for other manufacturers. iPhones typically have 4MB or 8MB cache, whereas typical ARM architecture processors contain just one or two MB of cache memory. This is expensive to pull off, but since Apple is not in the business of selling processor chips per se, they can recuperate the cost with the retail price of the iPhone.
Apple Processors Reign Supreme
The iPhones are phenomenal thanks to their high-powered and high-performing processor. Apple has complete design control, allowing it to create an SoC that is faster, bigger, and more efficient. Apple is miles ahead of the competition, but how long will they reign supreme?
