The Apple A7 (2013) shocked the industry by jumping to 64-bit years before Android rivals.
Key Features:
- CPU: 2-core “Cyclone” (first 64-bit ARMv8-A, ~2x faster than A6)
- Clock speed: 1.3–1.4GHz (iPhone 5S, iPad Air 1)
- GPU: PowerVR G6430 (first with OpenGL ES 3.0 support)
- Process: 28nm (more efficient than 32nm A6)
- RAM: 1GB LPDDR3 (faster than A6’s LPDDR2)
- Co-processor: M7 motion sensor (for fitness tracking)
- Devices: iPhone 5S, iPad Air 1, iPad Mini 2
Legacy:
🔥 Forced Android to rush 64-bit chips (Qualcomm scrambled to catch up)
🔥 Introduced Touch ID (5S) and Metal API (future gaming/graphics boost)