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Apple A8X
open-in-new
<h2 id="design">Design</h2> <p>The A8X has three cores clocked at 1.5 GHz, a more powerful GPU compared to the A8 and it contains 3 billion transistors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> With an extra 100 MHz and an additional core, the A8X performs around 13% better on single threaded and 55% better on multithreaded operations than the A8 inside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Further comparison to the A8 shows that the A8X uses a metal <a href="/facts/Heat_spreader/LnVok7d5">heat spreader</a>, which the A8 does not, and it doesn't use the <a href="/facts/Package_on_package/HGIeIDVl">package on package</a> configuration with included <a href="/facts/Random-access_memory/DuD4bxh6">RAM</a> which the A8 does. This is similar to how the older <i>"X"</i> variants, the <a href="/facts/Apple_A5X/8tmojSXE">A5X</a> and <a href="/facts/Apple_A6X/1HT0QhNk">A6X</a>, were designed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Instead the A8X in the iPad Air 2 uses an external 2 GB RAM module.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>In a first for Apple, the A8X is reported to have a semi-custom GPU. The A8X uses an 8-cluster GPU based on <a href="/facts/Imagination_Technologies/2nj1lCRC">Imagination Technologies</a> <a href="/facts/PowerVR/lTtwow8j">PowerVR Series 6XT</a> architecture. Officially, the largest implementation of Rogue is a 6-cluster design, indicating that Apple has made customizations to the design in order to provide higher performance. This GPU is referred to as the GXA6850, with the "A" denoting the Apple customization.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>The A8X has video codec encoding support for <a href="/facts/Advanced_Video_Coding/soCzKcmJ">H.264</a>. It has decoding support for H.264, <a href="/facts/MPEG-4_Part_2/qrahXdyN">MPEG‑4</a>, and <a href="/facts/Motion_JPEG/X68g4FvS">Motion JPEG</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="patent-litigation">Patent litigation</h2> <p>The A8X's <a href="/facts/Branch_predictor/pGPhFMj5">branch predictor</a> has been claimed to infringe on a 1998 patent.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> On October 14, 2015, a district judge found Apple guilty of infringing U.S. patent <a href="https://worldwide.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US5781752">US 5781752</a> , "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer", on the Apple A7 and A8 processors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> The patent is owned by <a href="/facts/Wisconsin_Alumni_Research_Foundation/0DCjPMby">Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation</a> (WARF), a firm affiliated with the <a href="/facts/University_of_Wisconsin/Rfj54YvS">University of Wisconsin</a>. On July 24, 2017, Apple was ordered to pay WARF $506 million for patent infringement. Apple filed an appellate brief on October 26, 2017, with the <a href="/facts/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit/HWYvYRYa">U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit</a>, that argued that Apple did not infringe on the patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> On September 28, 2018, the ruling was overturned on appeal and the award thrown out by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> The patent expired in December 2016.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="products-that-include-the-apple-a8x">Products that include the Apple A8X</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/IPad_Air_2/1p2HjQTJ">iPad Air 2</a></li> <li>iPad Pro (J98 & J99, unreleased)</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Apple_silicon/A8RgouDB">Apple silicon</a>, the range of ARM-based processors designed by Apple.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_ARMv8-A_cores/ukAolpcp">Comparison of ARMv8-A cores</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"TSMC reportedly lands CPU orders for Apple next-generation iPad". Archived from the original on 2016-06-04. Retrieved 2014-10-18. <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141015PD206.html" target="_blank">http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20141015PD206.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Apple Introduces iPad Air 2—The Thinnest, Most Powerful iPad Ever" (Press release). Apple. October 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. <a href="https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-iPad-Air-2-The-Thinnest-Most-Powerful-iPad-Ever.html" target="_blank">https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-iPad-Air-2-The-Thinnest-Most-Powerful-iPad-Ever.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Apple Introduces iPad Air 2—The Thinnest, Most Powerful iPad Ever" (Press release). Apple. October 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. <a href="https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-iPad-Air-2-The-Thinnest-Most-Powerful-iPad-Ever.html" target="_blank">https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-iPad-Air-2-The-Thinnest-Most-Powerful-iPad-Ever.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"iPad Air 2 - Performance". Apple. October 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. <a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/performance/" target="_blank">https://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/performance/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"iPad Air 2 - Performance". Apple. October 16, 2014. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014. <a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/performance/" target="_blank">https://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/performance/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"iPad Air 2 Benchmark Points to A8X Chip With Triple-Core 1.5 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM". Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-21. <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/21/ipad-air-2-a8x-triple-core-2gb-ram/" target="_blank">http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/21/ipad-air-2-a8x-triple-core-2gb-ram/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Latest iPad Air 2 component leak shows A8X chip & 2GB RAM". 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-18. <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/13/ipad-components-a8x-2gb-ram/" target="_blank">http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/13/ipad-components-a8x-2gb-ram/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"iPad Air 2 Benchmark Points to A8X Chip With Triple-Core 1.5 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM". Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-21. <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/21/ipad-air-2-a8x-triple-core-2gb-ram/" target="_blank">http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/21/ipad-air-2-a8x-triple-core-2gb-ram/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Latest iPad Air 2 component leak shows A8X chip & 2GB RAM". 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-18. <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/13/ipad-components-a8x-2gb-ram/" target="_blank">http://9to5mac.com/2014/10/13/ipad-components-a8x-2gb-ram/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"A8X's GPU - Even Better Than I Thought". Anandtech. November 11, 2014. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2015. <a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/8716/apple-a8xs-gpu-gxa6850-even-better-than-i-thought" target="_blank">http://www.anandtech.com/show/8716/apple-a8xs-gpu-gxa6850-even-better-than-i-thought</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"iPad Air 2 - Technical Specification". support.apple.com. Retrieved 2022-11-05. <a href="https://support.apple.com/kb/SP708?locale=en_US" target="_blank">https://support.apple.com/kb/SP708?locale=en_US</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Chirgwin, Richard (February 4, 2014). "Cupertino copied processor pipelining claims Wisconsin U". www.theregister.co.uk. The Register. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014. <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/04/cupertino_copied_processor_pipelining_claims_wisconsin_u/" target="_blank">https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/04/cupertino_copied_processor_pipelining_claims_wisconsin_u/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Joe Mullin (October 14, 2015). "Apple faces $862M patent damage claim from University of Wisconsin". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2015. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/apple-faces-862m-patent-damage-claim-from-university-of-wisconsin/" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/apple-faces-862m-patent-damage-claim-from-university-of-wisconsin/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Joe Mullin (October 14, 2015). "Apple faces $862M patent damage claim from University of Wisconsin". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2015. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/apple-faces-862m-patent-damage-claim-from-university-of-wisconsin/" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/apple-faces-862m-patent-damage-claim-from-university-of-wisconsin/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Wolfe, Jan (October 26, 2017). "Apple urges appeals court to toss $506 million patent loss to WARF". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/ip-patent-apple/apple-urges-appeals-court-to-toss-506-million-patent-loss-to-warf-idUSL2N1N12RW" target="_blank">https://www.reuters.com/article/ip-patent-apple/apple-urges-appeals-court-to-toss-506-million-patent-loss-to-warf-idUSL2N1N12RW</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Stempel, Jonathan (September 28, 2018). "Apple wins reversal in University of Wisconsin patent lawsuit". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-decision-patent/apple-wins-reversal-in-university-of-wisconsin-patent-lawsuit-idUSKCN1M81TV" target="_blank">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-decision-patent/apple-wins-reversal-in-university-of-wisconsin-patent-lawsuit-idUSKCN1M81TV</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Wolfe, Jan (July 25, 2017). "Apple ordered to pay $506 million to university in patent dispute". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ip-apple-patent-idUSKBN1AB023" target="_blank">https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ip-apple-patent-idUSKBN1AB023</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>