Apple ensured that its A19 and A19 Pro aren’t your typical iterative chipset updates compared to the A18 and A18 Pro, as the company brought in a wave of improvements over just a single generation. According to the newest analysis, both current-generation flagship chipsets powering the iPhone 17 series are up to 10 percent smaller in die area, with a closer inspection revealing that Apple succeeded in bringing higher performance cores coupled with an increase in efficiency cores and GPU area.
TSMC’s latest 3nm N3P node only offers a 4 percent area reduction compared to 3nm N3E, but Apple employed clever design innovations to introduce a multitude of improvements to the A19 and A19 Pro
The latest comparison reveals that the A19 Pro is 10 percent smaller than the A18 Pro, whereas the A19 has a 9 percent smaller die area compared to the A18. What is interesting to see is that TSMC’s older 3nm N3E and latest 3nm N3P nodes share a 4 percent area reduction difference, and Apple somehow managed to mass produce an A-series lineup that is up to 10 percent smaller than its immediate predecessor. Sounds like magic, right? More like clever chip design innovations at work here.
SemiAnalysis reports that the A19’s SLC cache remains unchanged from 4MB on the A18, but Apple has utilized less die area. For the older SoC, the company utilized 1.08 mm², while the newer silicon has secured 0.98 mm² of space. The Cupertino firm’s engineers have also used a more efficient layout of the remaining area housed by the Image Signal Processor (ISP), media engine, and more, leaving additional space for the efficiency cores and GPU area.
In fact, the performance cores, which are clocked higher on the A19 and A19 Pro, have shrunk by 4 percent, which may explain why there isn’t a major difference between them when compared to the A18’s and A18 Pro’s performance cores. However, what Apple achieved with its efficiency cores is nothing short of remarkable, with massive architectural changes to the A19 Pro allowing it to register up to a 29 percent performance improvement at practically no additional power draw.
Not only are the efficiency cores aiding the A19 Pro’s multi-core gains, but with major efficiency upgrades, Apple’s flagship iPhone SoC holds the crown for having the best ‘performance per watt’ metrics in Geekbench 6 for current-generation premium chipsets like Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Dimensity 9500. Next year should be full of surprises, as Apple’s A20 and A20 Pro are expected to be fabricated on TSMC’s 2nm process.
The move from 3nm to 2nm will materialize massive technological advancements that will not only be possible thanks to the improved lithography, but also additional design innovations. We should also anticipate the same approach applied to the M6, which will be found in Apple’s redesigned MacBook Pro series.
News Source: SemiAnalysis
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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