A5X Chip Floorplan Reveals Significant Space Required for Quad-Core Graphics

Earlier today, we pointed to some teardown tidbits from Chipworks regarding the new iPad, including the observation that the A5X system-on-a-chip is being manufactured by Samsung and is using the same 45-nm process used for the A5 package in earlier devices. Also noted was a significant increase of about 36% in the area of the A5X compared to the A5.

a5x floor plan
UBM TechInsights has now started stripping down the A5X, revealing the floorplan for the package. Among the notable observations is the amount of area taken up by the quad-core graphics found in the A5X, a significant boost from the dual-core graphics found in the A5.

What should be noted is that the processor cores from ARM are identical in look but the extra real estate on the processors (the A5 measures at approx. 120 mm^2 vs. the A5X which measures at 163 mm^2) is accounted for by the the PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU cores, of which they are paired in groups of two and then symmetrically opposed to each other.

By our calculations, the graphics cores take up roughly 25% of the A5X's surface area alone, compared to just 10% for the ARM cores that make up the application processor. The floorplan also reveals a number of other enhancements for the A5X, including additional DDR interfaces and architecture to support the boost in graphics horsepower.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Visa and American Express Vying to Win Apple Card Deal in 'Fierce' Fight

Tuesday April 1, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Visa wants to pay Apple approximately $100 million to be the new payment network for the Apple Card, reports The Wall Street Journal. As of right now, the Apple Card is on the Mastercard payment network, but that is set to change because Apple is ending its partnership with Goldman Sachs. Both American Express and Visa are vying to replace Mastercard as Apple's card services provider, while...

Top Rated Comments

cxny Avatar
170 months ago
that looks like a good sized apartment in NYC
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dashiel Avatar
170 months ago
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the iOS system libraries have access to OpenCL which uses the GPU to offload certain processes, so a quad-core GPU is a much bigger deal than just rendering 3D graphics and powering the retina display.

As has been stated ad naseum, Apple’s ability to get the industrial designers, interface designers, cpu & gpu engineers and software people all in the same room to hash out problems is going to produce real world advantages that belie specs and confound competitors. Nerds will moan, no one else will.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Truffy Avatar
170 months ago
double the pixel amount
Isn't it 4x pixel count, based on double the resolution in two dimensions?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smiddlehurst Avatar
170 months ago
Someone in the AnandTech comments mentioned the A5X die is about the same size as the upcoming 22nm quad core Ivy Bridge processors. If this isn't evidence that Apple messed up by using a 45nm process (vs. waiting 2 months and moving to 32nm), I don't know what is.

Except that it's not 2 months is it? Apple have been making iPad's since the first week of January to have enough ready to ship in mid-March. Even assuming that a 32nm process works and can produce the vast amount of chips required right out of the gate you'd be looking at delaying the launch until, what, July at the earliest? Longer if you assume parts were being made before that assembly time.

And for what? No, really, what benefit does Apple get by doing that? A15 and PowerVR Series 6 wouldn't really be ready by then so the only benefit may be to go to a quad core A9 which a) would bring questionable benefits to the iPad anyway (how many apps really NEED quad core CPU's?) and b) would still get spanked by the A15 designs which would then have been only a few months away from launching. The third gen iPad is hardly a slouch and feels just as quick in day to day use as the iPad 2. No-one outside of spec geeks cares about the CPU and all Apple would have done is hand the advantage to Android as someone, most likely Asus or Samsung, would have got a high def screen out the door before Apple shipped the new iPad.

Don't get me wrong, more power is always nice but right now it's hard to see what Apple could have done differently. The roadmap is pretty clear right now: the fourth gen iPad will see an A6 based on the next gen architecture and probably receive a big ol' speed boost as a result. The iPhone 6 will certainly get the A6 as well. The one that's still an unknown right now is iPhone 5 but I wouldn't be surprised to see that get an A5 variant on 32nm as they're still going to be close to the wire to get Cortex A15 CPU's out in volume by late summer.

Sorry but when you're talking about using utterly unproven technology the moment it's available for a mass market product like the iPad, well, that seems like a massive and unnecessary risk to me.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hellhammer Avatar
170 months ago
Someone in the AnandTech comments mentioned the A5X die is about the same size as the upcoming 22nm quad core Ivy Bridge processors. If this isn't evidence that Apple messed up by using a 45nm process (vs. waiting 2 months and moving to 32nm), I don't know what is.

What exactly is the problem with big die then? The actual device isn't any bigger because of that and the battery life is the same too (according to Apple, at least). You are making a big deal out of nothing.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fraaaa Avatar
170 months ago
Red over Green!? Really!?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)