The Apple A4 is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc. and manufactured by Samsung. It marked Apple’s first custom-designed ARM-based processor, moving away from fully off-the-shelf designs.
Key Features of the Apple A4
- Release Date: March 2010 (first appeared in the iPad 1st Gen)
- CPU:Single-core ARM Cortex-A8 (customized by Apple)
- Clock speed: 800MHz (iPhone 4) / 1GHz (iPad 1st Gen, iPod Touch 4th Gen)
- No multi-core processing (unlike later A-series chips)
- GPU: PowerVR SGX 535 (same as iPhone 3GS but optimized)
- Manufacturing Process: 45nm (later chips like A5 moved to 32nm)
- RAM: 256MB (iPhone 4) / 512MB (iPad 1st Gen)
- Notable Firsts:
- First Apple-designed SoC (though based on ARM Cortex-A8)
- Used in iPhone 4, iPad (1st Gen), iPod Touch (4th Gen), and Apple TV (2nd Gen)
Performance & Legacy
- Faster than iPhone 3GS (Samsung S5L8930) but still limited compared to later chips.
- No multi-core or advanced GPU features (unlike A5 and beyond).
- Paved the way for Apple’s fully custom CPU designs (A6 onwards).
Devices Powered by the A4
- iPad (1st Gen, 2010)
- iPhone 4 (2010)
- iPod Touch (4th Gen, 2010)
- Apple TV (2nd Gen, 2010)
Comparison with Successors
| Chip | CPU Cores | GPU | Process Node | First Device |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 1 (Cortex-A8) | PowerVR SGX 535 | 45nm | iPad (2010) |
| A5 | 2 (Cortex-A9) | PowerVR SGX 543MP2 | 45nm → 32nm | iPad 2 (2011) |
| A6 | 2 (Apple Swift) | PowerVR SGX 543MP3 | 32nm | iPhone 5 (2012) |
Why Was the A4 Important?
- First step toward Apple’s silicon independence (led to A5, A6, and eventually M1).
- Optimized for iOS (better performance than generic ARM chips).
- Set the foundation for Apple’s future custom ARM designs.
Limitations
❌ Single-core only (A5 introduced dual-core).
❌ No advanced GPU features (later GPUs supported better gaming & graphics).
❌ Outdated quickly (A5 in 2011 was a big leap).