The Apple A9 is a high-end dual-core ARM SoC for smartphones. It was announced in Sept. 2015 in the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Technical details were not published, but the CPU part should be about 70% and the GPU 90% faster than the previous Apple A8. Therefore, the performance should be on par with high-end Android SoCs in 2015.
It is based on the third generation of Apples 64 Bit architectures (Cyclone 3?) and uses a "new transistor technology". It is manufactured at Samsung in 14nm (slightly smaller die) and TSMC at 16nm (both FINFET 3D transistors). A performance difference of both versions are not noticable.
Furthermore, the chip now integrates the M9 motion coprocessor and a 4K video de- and encoder (as the iPhones 6s supports 4K video recording). The integrated graphics card should be still based on PowerVR technology.
The power consumption could be lower than the A8 due to the new process technology and the fact that the iPhones now got a smaller battery (due to the haptic engine part).
| Codename | Cyclone 3 |
| Clock Rate | 1800 MHz |
| Number of Cores / Threads | 2 / 2 |
| Manufacturing Technology | 14/16 nm |
| Features | ARMv8 Instruction Set |
| GPU | Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600 |
| 64 Bit | 64 Bit support |
| Architecture | ARM |
| Announcement Date | 09/09/2015 |
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
Apple iPad (2017): Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600, 9.70", 0.5 kg
External Review » Apple iPad (2017)
Apple iPhone SE: Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600, 4.00", 0.1 kg
External Review » Apple iPhone SE
Apple iPhone 6S Plus: Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600, 5.50", 0.2 kg
External Review » Apple iPhone 6S Plus
Apple iPhone 6S: Apple A9 / PowerVR GT7600, 4.70", 0.1 kg
External Review » Apple iPhone 6S
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