Early 2021 Apple Silicon iMac said to have 'A14T' processor
Supply chain sources claim that Apple is to make a new desktop processor, the "A14T," plus its own GPU, for forthcoming Apple Silicon Macs, both of which are to be 5nm processors.
27-inch iMac
As Apple is expected to be going into mass production of its A14X processor for Apple Silicon Macs, a new report says it is developing a new desktop processor called the "A14T." This, plus an Apple-designed graphics processing unit are to be launched in 2021, and Apple is already designing a new "A15" series.
According to China Times, Apple has a research and development project codenamed Mt Jade, which is developing the new processors. The Apple-designed GPU is known internally as "Lifuka" -- presumably named after the island in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Apple Silicon and A-series chip development rumor, credit ChinaTimes
"Lifuka," the "A14T," and the further "A15" processors are believed to all be built using TSMC's 5nm process. The iPhone 12 range uses TSMC's 5nm process.
TSMC has previously been reported to be basing Apple's "A16" chips on a 3nm process, with this processor having been expected to be in the iPhone and iPad in 2022.
According to China Times, the 2021 "iPhone 13" will use an "A15 Bionic" processor, based on an enhanced version of the 5nm process that TSMC will launch in 2021.
Reportedly, the first Apple Silicon Macs, expected in November, will use an "A14X" processor. The "A15 Bionic" for the iPhone is expected to enter production in the third quarter of 2021. The "A15T" is believed to follow at some point afterwards.
China Times expects TSMC to be building 5nm processors for other companies, including Qualcomm, Broadcom, and MediaTek. However, TSMC has recently reportedly been losing staff to rival companies.
27-inch iMac
As Apple is expected to be going into mass production of its A14X processor for Apple Silicon Macs, a new report says it is developing a new desktop processor called the "A14T." This, plus an Apple-designed graphics processing unit are to be launched in 2021, and Apple is already designing a new "A15" series.
According to China Times, Apple has a research and development project codenamed Mt Jade, which is developing the new processors. The Apple-designed GPU is known internally as "Lifuka" -- presumably named after the island in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Apple Silicon and A-series chip development rumor, credit ChinaTimes
"Lifuka," the "A14T," and the further "A15" processors are believed to all be built using TSMC's 5nm process. The iPhone 12 range uses TSMC's 5nm process.
TSMC has previously been reported to be basing Apple's "A16" chips on a 3nm process, with this processor having been expected to be in the iPhone and iPad in 2022.
According to China Times, the 2021 "iPhone 13" will use an "A15 Bionic" processor, based on an enhanced version of the 5nm process that TSMC will launch in 2021.
Reportedly, the first Apple Silicon Macs, expected in November, will use an "A14X" processor. The "A15 Bionic" for the iPhone is expected to enter production in the third quarter of 2021. The "A15T" is believed to follow at some point afterwards.
China Times expects TSMC to be building 5nm processors for other companies, including Qualcomm, Broadcom, and MediaTek. However, TSMC has recently reportedly been losing staff to rival companies.
Comments
I though they just woke up one morning in September every year and said to themselves, “ya know, I think I’ll design the next generation A-series processor over lunch today...”.
Or will the Mac variants of the processors be faster enough that an iPhone/iPad using next generation will still be slower?
There is no way Apple is going to use an A-series SoC in a Mac - not even a low-end MacBook. Those SoCs were designed specifically for iOS and the need to be highly efficient. There's a reason Apple said they were designing a new family of SoCs for the Mac - different needs. Using an A14X for both the iPad Pro and a MacBook, means one of those is not as optimized as Apple usually prefers.
And, the A14 is already a beast. On par with the fastest Mac 13" Pros
So, what does that tell you?
That said, it wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to separate the two simply to expand their update cycle and heat management options. If the GPU is physically separate, Apple's teams can update the CPU and GPU at different rates.
Could also be important for the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro, both of which use specialized chips and sell in low enough volume it probably wouldn't be worth the engineering effort of building a whole separate processor line just for them. If they separate the CPU and GPU, and build the CPU to support multiple chips in a single system, that would let them make one single processor at the high end and simply adjust the number of chips per system.
From a purely practical standpoint, we know the chips aren't going to be new "from the ground up". The instruction set is definitely shared. The core designs are definitely going to be shared, with the possibility of an additional desktop-only core design (I don't think a desktop-only core is likely, but it's possible).
‘’the reality is that there are always going to be people who are unhappy every time Apple upgrades their machines because they bought on the a]year. But that’s just too bad. If we know that Apple will upgrade their machines every year again, and when, we can go back to preparing for those upgrades.
since Apple is designing chips JUST for their Nacs, I imagine they will be faster than the same generation chips for the phone, and likely, the iPad. With the bigger battery capacity allowing faster designs, and better cooling capacity, these chips can run faster, possibly have more cores, bigger neural learning and machine learning core, among other advances.
‘’I highly doubt Apple would have gone through the publicity to make it clear that a series of chips were being developed only for Macs if this weren’t so. I don’t know what this supposed A14X is supposed to be, other than the A14x for the iPad Pro. That could be a mixup, or, if it’s correct, the capital X, rather than the lower case one Apple normally uses for that chip, could mean it’s an enhanced version.