

On Apple’s A7 Processor - MikeCapone
http://stevecheney.com/on-apples-a7-processor/

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marshray
"whether the chip is dual or multicore, 32-bit or 64, you can bet Apple has it
all tightly woven together"

I don't get it. Any device maker has multiple options in those four
configurations. All mobile chip makers seek to optimize "performance per
Watt".

What parameters are Apple going to tweak to make it "exactly fit" rather than
suffer the heartbreak of a "generic design compromise"?

~~~
aortega
Unlike Android, Apple needs 900000+ third-party apps binary compatibility so
they can't tightly weave anything, except perhaps extract a little more power
savings from the kernel/CPU interface.

~~~
engrenage
Only if you ignore the gigantic set of APIs that Apple also controls through
which those binary apps get the vast majority of their work done.

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twotwotwo
Kind of hope they stay dual-core and keep improving the work done per clock.
Right now, too little software will use four cores. They could add distinct
low-power cores (e.g., so Siri can listen while the phone is sleeping) or
other specialized stuff, but four identical cores just doesn't strike me as
the best use of die area in a mobile device.

------
revelation
The question will be "can they beat Intel" once Intel gets its shit together
and becomes serious about mobile. And the answer would be an unequivocal "no".

~~~
MikeCapone
The burden of proof certainly is on Intel right now, not Apple.

But even if Intel was to make great mobile chips, Apple sells because of the
whole package, not just the chip. What does Intel have on the mobile side,
except the possibility of being one more supplier for semi-anonymous Android
and Windows phones?

~~~
ihsw
Intel is pivoting the entirety of their chip design/production infrastructure,
it's a big ship to turn. I wouldn't expect anything serious from Intel until
Q4 2014.

~~~
eliben
> it's a big ship to turn

Indeed. And they're taking their time turning it too. Atom was first announced
in 2007 (according to Wikipedia), just 3 months after the _first_ iphone was
released. Look at Apple now, while Intel are still busy turning that ship...

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randyrand
cache:
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:stevech...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:stevecheney.com/on-
apples-a7-processor/)

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caycep
That being said, isn't the Facebook iOS app known for being a huge CPU hog?
Every time I boot it off the multitasking tray, my iPhone (original 4) feels
like a new phone...

~~~
ben1040
The design they describe is how you do anything on iOS that's going to go out
and talk to some web services, otherwise talk on the network, or the like. You
do your UI stuff on the UI thread and you use additional background threads
for the network stuff.

In any case, if you're not in the Facebook app, then iOS has frozen it and
it's not getting any CPU time at all. Removing it from the multitasking tray
does not stop it from consuming any CPU resources, because if Facebook isn't
on the screen then it's not running.

