14 DAY TRIAL // When Apple released the first 64-bit A7 chip, everyone was blown by how fast this was. Now it seems the future A8 will leave the A7 in the dust.
According to Chinese Media, the new A 8 that will come on the iPhone 6 is going to have a frequency of 2.0 GHz or more per core. If you see the 1.3GHz from the A7 System on a Chip included in the iPhone 5s, the speed bump is considerable. Even the iPad which sports a 1.4 GHz processor seems like a slow device.
The Apple "A" series of System on a Chip is used in the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple TV. The Apple TV is really behind the other devices, but for what it needs, the A5 is good enough.
The Apple SOC integrates one or more ARM-based processing cores, a graphics unit, cache memory, and others to help your device be fast and, at the same time, take as less space as possible inside the casing.
The latest A7 SoC used in the iPhone 5S uses a 28 nm process with a dual-core CPU running at 1.3 GHz and quad-core GPU, while the A4 SoC in the first iPad used a die manufactured on a 45 nm process with a single-core CPU running at up to 1 GHz. So far, Samsung was the manufacturer for the A7 chip. With the A8, Apple may switch completely to TSMC.
The new microchip has an important feature built in – Secure Enclave – the region that protects your fingerprints used with Touch ID.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has already begun shipping the new microprocessor to Apple. Samsung, which held the contract until last year, could end up not being Apple's preferred manufacturer as of 2014.
According to the WSJ, Apple will buy 10% of TSMC's orders this year. The Taiwanese company is growing year after year. in 2013, they've had an increase of 18% in revenue that translates into almost 600 billion New Taiwanese dollars (almost 20 billion US Dollars.)
Samsung has until now been the sole manufacturer for Apple's microchips. Their revenue fell down 27 percent this year may have as one of the main causes Apple's change of heart.
Apple also cancelled their orders for iPhone screens with Samsung and has reduced the iPad display purchases.