The A15 Bionic is expected to debut alongside the iPhone 13 series in the third week of September, and it will be interesting how Apple harnesses the advanced manufacturing process to improve performance and power efficiency. However, there are some areas of the chipset that will likely remain the same, and that is the total CPU core count.
No Word on GPU Core Numbers, but TSMC’s Improved Node Could Help the A15 Bionic Achieve a New Performance Record
The only time Apple increased the CPU core count when releasing A-series chips for the iPhone was when it announced the A11 Bionic back in 2017. Since then, that figure has remained unchanged, and with the iPhone 13’s release, the 6-core CPU will be retained, according to a Bloomberg report. However, the biggest difference is that the A15 Bionic will be made on TSMC’s N5P node.
While the A14 Bionic was also mass produced on TSMC’s 5nm architecture, the upcoming node is expected to be an enhanced version, likely resulting in slight performance and power efficiency improvements. For those expecting TSMC’s 4nm architecture to be used, do not expect it this year as mass production of the A15 Bionic reportedly kicked off in May.
The A15 Bionic’s CPU configuration will likely comprise of two performance cores, followed by four power-efficient ones, just like last year. Apple may target battery life, considering which product the chipset will end up in, but we feel that on previous occasions, the SoC will obtain higher single and multi-core numbers than the competition. The Snapdragon 895’s performance was recently leaked, and though it was beaten by the A14 Bionic, it came darn close to dethroning it.
Looking at these figures, Apple will attempt to find that intricate balance, and it will have to be careful about it because this year is the first when the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will feature variable refresh rate displays and a 5G modem, both of which will chew through battery life.
Which area do you think Apple will target with the A15 Bionic? Performance or battery life? Share your thoughts down in the comments.
News Source: Bloomberg
