Apple iPhone 6S teardown

[raghu78]

Chipworks iPhone 6s teardown

http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/inside-the-iphone-6s

"First off - Apple’s new A9 processor is the APL0898, and it’s ~8.7 x 10.7 mm, or ~94 mm2, which agrees with our 80% shrink guesstimates. Maybe that’s a reflection of the 14/16 nm processes only shrinking the transistor dimensions, not the metallization, maybe it means that Apple have crammed more in there (probably both). And it seems to confirm our postulated 8MB of L3 cache."

"The APL0898 size fits with an 80% shrink on the A8, and seems to have 8 MB cache - and our first look leads us to believe that our sample is from Samsung. "

iFixit iPhone 6S teardown

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6s+Teardown/48170

"We can't confirm the die size, but the A9 package itself appears bigger—roughly 14.5 x 15 mm, up from 13.5 x 14.5 mm on the A8"

iFixit confirms iPhone 6S has APL0898 (likely Samsung) while iPhone 6S Plus has APL1022 (likely TSMC). Normally the smaller iPhone model sells twice the units of the larger Plus model. This would mean Samsung gets the bulk of the volume this generation.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6s+Teardown/48170

Step 17 - Apple A9 APL0898 SoC + Samsung 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM (as denoted by the markings K3RG1G10BM-BGCH)

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+6s+Plus+Teardown/48171

Step 12 - Apple A9 APL1022 SoC + SK Hynix LPDDR4 RAM as denoted by the markings H9HKNNNBTUMUMR-NLH

So from first appearances it looks like Samsung and TSMC got the A9 with Samsung getting the bulk of the volume at 65% given the sales split. Anyway we need the more detailed die shot and metal layers shot from chipworks. Once chipworks publishes those it will be added here. :thumbsup:

 

[el etro]

8MB L3 cache. It looks like a Xeon, but is only the A9 SoC!

 

[tipoo]

8MB L3 cache. It looks like a Xeon, but is only the A9 SoC!

I'm guessing it's more like Crystalwell, helping the GPU as well, depending on what needs it.

What's the A9s theoretical memory bandwidth now?

 

[witeken]

8MB L3 cache. It looks like a Xeon, but is only the A9 SoC!

Is that 8MB even confirmed?

 

[Arachnotronic]

8MB L3 cache. It looks like a Xeon, but is only the A9 SoC!

That SoC has a lot of bandwidth-hungry agents to feed: big GPU, 2 fast CPU cores, ISP, etc.

8MB L3$ makes a lot of sense!

 

[StrangerGuy]

This is even more shocking than the A9 IMO: http://anandtech.com/show/9662/iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-preliminary-results

The first, and probably biggest change that I haven’t seen addressed anywhere else yet is the storage solution of the iPhone 6s. Previous writers on the site have often spoken of Apple’s custom NAND controllers for storage in the iPhone, but I didn’t really understand what this really meant. In the case of the iPhone 6s, it seems that this means Apple has effectively taken their Macbook SSD controller and adapted it for use in a smartphone. Doing some digging through system files reveals that the storage solution identifies itself as APPLE SSD AP0128K, while the Macbook we reviewed had an SSD that identified itself as AP0256H.

UFS 2.0 is so yesterday.

 

[jkauff]

And still the 3-year old audio chip that maxes out at 24/48. Just about every decent Android phone has 24/192, which is standard issue from Cirrus Logic for everyone but Apple.

I gave up caring once I got my FiiO X3 music player, but it's embarrassing for a company that claims to care about music.

Then again, they're not embarrassed selling a 16GB unexpandable 6S, either.

 

[StrangerGuy]

And still the 3-year old audio chip that maxes out at 24/48. Just about every decent Android phone has 24/192, which is standard issue from Cirrus Logic for everyone but Apple.

I gave up caring once I got my FiiO X3 music player, but it's embarrassing for a company that claims to care about music.

Then again, they're not embarrassed selling a 16GB unexpandable 6S, either.

There is no scientific evidence that 192KHz sampling rates are better than 48KHz beyond placebophile nonsense touted by snake oil salesmen. Take your true believer crap elsewhere.

 

[catinthefurnace]

there is no scientific evidence that 192khz sampling rates are better than 48khz beyond placebophile nonsense touted by snake oil salesmen. Take your true believer crap elsewhere.

^ +10,000!

 

[catinthefurnace]

And still the 3-year old audio chip that maxes out at 24/48. Just about every decent Android phone has 24/192, which is standard issue from Cirrus Logic for everyone but Apple.

I gave up caring once I got my FiiO X3 music player, but it's embarrassing for a company that claims to care about music.

Then again, they're not embarrassed selling a 16GB unexpandable 6S, either.

Here's a good primer on the subject. 192 kHz audio is actually practically speaking, worse than 48.

http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

 

[RussianSensation]

Chipworks iPhone 6s teardown

http://www.chipworks.com/about-chipworks/overview/blog/inside-the-iphone-6s

"First off - Apple’s new A9 processor is the APL0898, and it’s ~8.7 x 10.7 mm, or ~94 mm2, which agrees with our 80% shrink guesstimates.

If this translates closely to 16nm TSMC shrink for next generation GPUs, along with ~1TB/sec HBM2 and IPC improvements from newer architectures, we could be looking towards an EPIC increase in GPU performance over the 2016-2017 periods.

Apple's priority on flash memory performance and single-threaded performance is really paying off here. The barely 6-months old Samsung S6 looks completely 'outdated' as far as CPU/GPU and flash memory performance goes against the 6S. I realize that for every day use, both phone are likely snappy enough for most folks but Apple really put the foot down this time. 6S's ~2500 in Geekbench against ~1500 or so for Samsung S6 is just nuts.

The 2 year old Note 4 looks absolutely ridiculous against a dual-core 6S.

6S's jump from 6 is also massive.

This is even more shocking than the A9 IMO: http://anandtech.com/show/9662/iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-preliminary-results

UFS 2.0 is so yesterday.

And many people keep saying that the S models are incremental. Sure, in terms of exterior design and displays, that would be mostly true. In terms of CPU, GPU and flash memory performance (for 6->6S), moving from 5-5S or 6->6S generated huge leaps in performance. As AT outlined, the S generation is where the focus is on performance while the regular is more about exterior redesign. Comparing 5S to 5, it was practically 2X faster than the 5 but people still called that incremental, and yet 6 barely improved over 5S.

I think upgrading from 5->6->7 or on the S-side are sound strategies but to imply that the S refreshes are just mild upgrades is misleading at least when it comes to massive performance increases we've had so far with 5S and 6S.

Smartphone SOC performance is improving so fast, it's more exciting to follow in a sense than desktop CPUs. :biggrin:

 

[Eug]

If this translates closely to 16nm TSMC shrink for next generation GPUs, along with ~1TB/sec HBM2 and IPC improvements from newer architectures, we could be looking towards an EPIC increase in GPU performance over the 2016-2017 periods.

Apple's priority on flash memory performance and single-threaded performance is really paying off here. The barely 6-months old Samsung S6 looks completely 'outdated' as far as CPU/GPU and flash memory performance goes against the 6S. I realize that for every day use, both phone are likely snappy enough for most folks but Apple really put the foot down this time. 6S's ~2500 in Geekbench against ~1500 or so for Samsung S6 is just nuts.

The 2 year old Note 4 looks absolutely ridiculous against a dual-core 6S.

6S's jump from 6 is also massive.

And many people keep saying that the S models are incremental. Sure, in terms of exterior design and displays, that would be mostly true. In terms of CPU, GPU and flash memory performance (for 6->6S), moving from 5-5S or 6->6S generated huge leaps in performance. As AT outlined, the S generation is where the focus is on performance while the regular is more about exterior redesign. Comparing 5S to 5, it was practically 2X faster than the 5 but people still called that incremental, and yet 6 barely improved over 5S.

I think upgrading from 5->6->7 or on the S-side are sound strategies but to imply that the S refreshes are just mild upgrades is misleading at least when it comes to massive performance increases we've had so far with 5S and 6S.

Smartphone SOC performance is improving so fast, it's more exciting to follow in a sense than desktop CPUs. :biggrin:

? In terms of speed, the non-S models also had big gains in speed. 3GS --> 4 was big. 4S --> 5 was big. 5s -->6 was also big. The reason the 6+ didn't feel like big speed upgrade was because there was a big increase in pixels at the same time.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Smartphone SOC performance is improving so fast, it's more exciting to follow in a sense than desktop CPUs. :biggrin:

My Note 3 is barely two years old and now the 6S is almost 3x faster in single core performance.

It's amazing how Apple went from vanilla ARM to a custom chip powerhouse in just 4 years while successfully executing die shrinks (32->28->20->16/14nm) on third party fabs while delivering significant (A5 to A6, A7 to A8) to massive gains (A6 to A7, A8 to A9) in IPC and GPU to ship in ever-increasing chip volumes every year.

 

[Arachnotronic]

My Note 3 is barely two years old and now the 6S is almost 3x faster in single core performance.

It's amazing how Apple went from vanilla ARM to a custom chip powerhouse in just 4 years while successfully executing die shrinks (32->28->20->16/14nm) on third party fabs while delivering significant (A5 to A6, A7 to A8) to massive gains (A6 to A7, A8 to A9) in IPC and GPU to ship in ever-increasing chip volumes every year.

Amazing what a world class team with an extremely large budget can do, eh?

I still can't get over how awesome my iPhone 6s is to use.

 

[NTMBK]

It's amazing how Apple went from vanilla ARM to a custom chip powerhouse in just 4 years while successfully executing die shrinks (32->28->20->16/14nm) on third party fabs while delivering significant (A5 to A6, A7 to A8) to massive gains (A6 to A7, A8 to A9) in IPC and GPU to ship in ever-increasing chip volumes every year.

Remember, Apple's chip design team is built around clever acquisitions (P.A. Semi and Intrinsity), and poaching lots of extremely talented engineers. Its not like they're a bunch of n00bs

 

[coercitiv]

I still can't get over how awesome my iPhone 6s is to use.

And what exactly is so hyperbole worthy on the new iPhone from a user perspective?

 

[Arachnotronic]

And what exactly is so hyperbole worthy on the new iPhone from a user perspective?

3D Touch, crazy fast Touch ID, extremely snappy general performance (it is noticeably faster than my old iP6), great gaming performance, excellent cameras, and I'm pretty sure they've improved the color accuracy/contrast of the display relative to the 6.

 

[NTMBK]

And what exactly is so hyperbole worthy on the new iPhone from a user perspective?

It finally has more memory than a Moto G :awe:

 

[coercitiv]

extremely snappy general performance (it is noticeably faster than my old iP6)

By noticeably faster you mean apps load faster? Have you noticed any clear benefit in browsing or social media apps performance? I'm sure games benefit a lot from the new SoC though, gaming on the new device should be an excellent experience.

crazy fast Touch ID

Even on the iPhone 6 the ID process takes less time than the following home screen animation. I barely have time to see the time and date on the lock screen before the home screen animation starts. Where is the incredible gain?

and I'm pretty sure they've improved the color accuracy/contrast of the display relative to the 6.

You can tell improved color accuracy over the iPhone 6 display with the naked eye?

It finally has more memory than a Moto G :awe:

Well, it was a rather uninspired decision to keep the 6 at 1GB. But we can't really praise Apple for doing something that was long overdue, can we?

 

[el etro]

Remember, Apple's chip design team is built around clever acquisitions (P.A. Semi and Intrinsity), and poaching lots of extremely talented engineers. Its not like they're a bunch of n00bs

Fascinating is that these same Engineers Apple hired this years has done many of most important CPUs over the time. Is the same guys over and over, doing the best work.

 

[Arachnotronic]

By noticeably faster you mean apps load faster? Have you noticed any clear benefit in browsing or social media apps performance? I'm sure games benefit a lot from the new SoC though, gaming on the new device should be an excellent experience.

Yes. Web-pages, especially more complex ones, render much faster.

Even on the iPhone 6 the ID process takes less time than the following home screen animation. I barely have time to see the time and date on the lock screen before the home screen animation starts. Where is the incredible gain?

It is a night-and-day difference.

You can tell improved color accuracy over the iPhone 6 display with the naked eye?

We'll see if I can when AT's review is posted, but the 6s display looks noticeably better to me than my iPhone 6 does (and I have both of them still so I have been able to look at them side-by-side).

 

[lopri]

This is even more shocking than the A9 IMO: http://anandtech.com/show/9662/iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-preliminary-results



UFS 2.0 is so yesterday.

I see UFS 2.0 being faster than NVMe there. (unless one uses a phone like a thumb drive)

 

[lopri]

I mean, I do not know the ins and outs of either tech, but surely random R/W is more important in a smartphone than sequential R/W?

 

[Skurge]

I mean, I do not know the ins and outs of either tech, but surely random R/W is more important in a smartphone than sequential R/W?

I would think so. I'm actually shocked at how slow they are relative to sequential r/w

Also UFS looks to be 3-4x faster in Random r/w than the iPhone 6

 

[StrangerGuy]

How about the benchmarks isnt utilizing the SSD to the fullest just yet? Something like how the 8600GT destroys the 7900GTX in games that were released later.