Yes, Apple does use ARM-based chips in many of its products including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and more recently, Mac computers. The company designs its own system-on-chips (SoCs) that are based on ARM’s architecture and instruction set. Let’s take a closer look at Apple’s history with ARM and where things stand today.
A Brief History of Apple and ARM
Apple first started using ARM processors in the original iPhone back in 2007. The iPhone featured a Samsung-manufactured SoC called the APL0098, which had a 412 MHz ARM11 CPU. At the time, ARM designs offered power efficiency advantages over Intel’s x86 chips, making them well-suited for mobile devices.
As iPhones and iPads continued to be released over the years, Apple developed more powerful custom SoCs leveraging ARM’s technology. These chips were designed by Apple and manufactured by companies like Samsung and TSMC.
Some notable Apple ARM chip highlights over the years:
- iPhone 3GS (2009) – Cortex-A8 600 MHz
- iPad 2 (2011) – Dual-core Cortex-A9 1 GHz
- iPhone 5 (2012) – Dual-core Swift 1.3 GHz
- iPhone 6 (2014) – Dual-core Typhoon 1.4 GHz
- iPhone XS (2018) – Hexa-core Twister 2.5 GHz
In June 2020 at WWDC, Apple announced it would transition the Mac lineup from Intel x86 to ARM-based Apple Silicon over the next two years. The first Macs with Apple Silicon called the M1 chip were released later in 2020.
Apple’s Current ARM-Based Chips
As of September 2022, Apple uses self-designed ARM-based chips across its product lineup spanning from watches to phones to tablets to laptops.
Apple Watch
- S7 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor
iPhones
- A15 Bionic chip: Hexa-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
iPads
- M2 chip: 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- A14 Bionic chip: 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU
Macs
- M2 Pro chip: 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- M2 chip: 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- M1 Pro chip: 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
- M1 Max chip: 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Key Benefits of ARM for Apple
There are several benefits Apple gains by using its own custom ARM-based processors:
- Performance: ARM’s RISC architecture provides high compute performance per watt, enabling fast and energy-efficient chips.
- Customization: Apple can optimize the chips to perfectly fit its devices and software needs.
- Control: By owning the core silicon, Apple isn’t reliant on Intel’s chip roadmap.
- Ecosystem integration: Tight integration between hardware and software yields better experiences.
- Cost: Bringing chip design in-house reduces Apple’s reliance on 3rd-party chip suppliers.
The use of ARM chips allows Apple to push the envelope on device performance and capabilities while maintaining all-day battery life. As ARM architectures advance, Apple can rapidly innovate and update its portfolio.
Apple’s Custom Architecture Innovations
While Apple leverages ARM’s instruction set, it has built a variety of proprietary enhancements and co-processor technology into its silicon. Some examples include:
- Apple GPUs: Custom graphics processors for high graphics performance.
- Neural Engine: Hardware acceleration for machine learning tasks.
- Secure Enclave: For storage of sensitive data like fingerprints and encryption keys.
- Image signal processor (ISP): For computational photography.
- Display engine: Supports latest screen technologies like ProMotion.
By pairing ARM CPU cores with custom engines, Apple has made the chip much more than just a CPU. It is an entire platform that brings together world-class CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators, image processors, and security features.
The Future of Apple’s ARM-Based Chips
Apple is committed to transitioning its entire product lineup to Apple Silicon. The company plans to support and release new Intel-based Macs for several more years, but ARM is clearly the future.
Industry experts expect Apple will continue innovating on multiple fronts including:
- Introducing new SoC variants and families for different device needs.
- Increasing CPU performance and efficiency.
- Boosting the number of GPU cores and graphics capabilities.
- Enhancing AI acceleration with more powerful Neural Engines.
- Adding new specialized co-processors and engines.
With full control over hardware and software, Apple can deeply integrate new ARM chip capabilities into their operating systems to enable advanced user experiences. The unified ARM architecture also allows Apple to scale innovations across all product segments faster.
Conclusion
ARM-based processors power all of Apple’s major product lines today including watches, phones, tablets, and laptops. Apple’s custom silicon design paired with the power efficiency of ARM have enabled substantial gains in performance and battery life. The unified architecture gives Apple the flexibility to innovate rapidly across its ecosystem. As ARM continues to evolve, Apple is well-positioned to develop even more advanced custom Silicon and deliver differentiated user experiences for years to come.
