What is the Apple A4 processor?
How is it different from the Snapdragon 1 GHz installed in newer cell phones?Â
How would you compare the speed of the processors?
Which is faster or slower?
Apple A4 processor is a SOC (System on Chip) manufactured by the Samsung Corp. It is actually the combination of ARM Cortex-A8 process and the PowerVR GPU. It also provides a better power efficiency.
This chip was firstly introduced in the iPad tablet and later in the iPhone 4 and 4th generation iPod touch. On the other hand, Snapdragon is a family of SOC by Qualcomm. They consider snapdragon as a platform to be used in smartphones, tablets etc.
Snapdragon has its own unique design given to it by Qualcomm. It is very similar in behavior to ARMÂ Cortex-V8Â but it is based on ARMÂ v7Â Instruction set. In the records, it has a much higher performance in multimedia related operations.
Snapdragon also has support to decode HD videos at 720p and 1080p resolutions depending on the chipset. The GPU that is being used in the Snapdragon is made by Adreno Company. About your question that which one is faster I am listing few images and charts from the internet.
| Applications Processor Performance | ||||||
|  | Apple iPad (Apple A4) | Apple iPhone 3GS (ARM Cortex A8) | Google Nexus One (Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250) | % A4 Faster than Snapdragon | ||
| Load www.anandtech.com | 6.2 seconds | 9.3 seconds | 8.8 seconds | 41% | ||
| Load www.digg.com | 10.6 seconds | 18.0 seconds | 11.5 seconds | 8.7% | ||
| Load www.tomshardware.com | 7.9 seconds | 13.9 seconds | 8.6 seconds | 8.7% | ||
| Load www.arstechnica.com | 7.8 seconds | 13.8 seconds | 11.0 seconds | 39.9% | ||
| Load www.legitreviews.com | 6.8 seconds | 12.3 seconds | 8.6 seconds | 26% | ||
| Load www.techreport.com | 3.7 seconds | 7.4 seconds | 4.2 seconds | 11.6% | ||
| Load www.engadget.com | 13.8 seconds | 22.8 seconds | 22.0 seconds | 59.4% | ||
| Load www.gizmodo.com | 14.1 seconds | 21.4 seconds | 16.7 seconds | 18.5% | ||
| Load m.cnn.com | 3.0 seconds | 6.0 seconds | 2.6 seconds | -11.8% | ||
Overall, the Apple's A4 is 37.6% faster than Qualcomm's Snapdragon. The A4 is particularly exciting because it combines the features of Snapdragon CPU with a PowerVR SGX GPU which makes it more superior than Snapdragon.
This processor is a package on package (POP) design by Apple and has been manufactured by Samsung. It works by combining an ARM CortexA8 CPU with PowerVR GPU. It was first released in an IPad tablet shortly after which it was also launched in the iPhone 4, the 4th generation iPod Touch and the 2nd generation Apple TV.
It was considered outdated in the second-generation IPad, which was released the following year, by the Apple A5 processor.
The A4 processor runs at 1 GHz for the IPad and as already explained contains an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU core paired with a PowerVR SGX 535. The A4 processor supports POP installation and thus has no RAM. The later version of iPhone (iPhone 4s) also has an Apple A4 chip.
Comparison for both the processors in given below:
Snapdragon 1 GHz.
Comparatively higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD (Single instruction, multiple data) operations.
Snapdragon processors have the circuitry to decode high-definition video at both 720p or 1080p resolutions.
A snapdragon Includes a CPU "Krait" (Single core with speeds up to 2.5 GHz). Memory up to 1 GB DDR2.
Values for L1,L2 Cache are not known .
Apple A4
As already explained it supports PoP installation and therefore has no RAM.
It has a CPU "ARM Cotex A8 (Single Core with speeds up to 1.0 GHz).
L1 Cache 32 kb instruction, 32 kb data.
L1Â Cache 512Â kb
Memory used with this chip in iPad is 256 MB Low Power DDR2.
It was designed by Apple and manufactured by Samsung. It was first used in IPad tablets and later on it was used in iPhone 4. It combines an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU with a PowerVR GPU. It has no RAM instead it supports POP installation.
The A4 runs at a speed of 1 GHz, and by mobile CPU standards Apple A4 can play back HD video for 10 hours. It was launched with a very impressive feet of specs including two DDR2 memory controllers on a single chip with two 64-bit PowerPC G5 cores. It ran at 2.0GHz with an average power consumption of 13 watts and a peak power consumption of 25-watts.
Apple A4 processor.
Apple A4
Snapdragon
Is a family SOCV by Qualcomm. It is widely used in smart phones, tablets and smart book devices.It possesses a unique design of Qualcomm's in which the Snapdragon includes a CPU "Krait" (with speeds up to 2.5GHz), GPU "Adreno 225", 2g/3g/4g modem, and several DSP coprocessors.
It has a higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD (Single instruction, multiple data) operations. Adreno company creates a GPU that is being used in the Snapdragon. Snapdragon also supports to decode High-definition videos at 720p and 1080p resolutions. The resolution depends on the chipset.
Is a family SOCV by Qualcomm. use in smartphones,tablets and smartbooks devices. The unique design of Qualcomm's.
Snapdragon processor
Snapdragon 1GHz
Comparatively higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD (Single instruction, multiple data) operations.
Snapdragon processors have the circuitry to decode high-definition video at both 720p or 1080p resolutions.
A snapdragon Includes a CPU "Krait" (Single core with speeds up to 2.5 GHz). Memory up to 1 GB DDR2.
Values for L1, L2 Cache are not known.
Apple A4 is faster than Snapdragon Because A4 combined an ARM Cortex-A8 with a Power-VR GPU.
AnandTech agree that Apple A4 SoC is faster than Qualcomm's Snapdragon CPU.
According to the benchmark results the A4 which is used in iPhone 4 is around 10-30% faster than 600 MHz ARM Cortex A8 and 1 GHz Snapdragon, which used in various smart phones and The Google Nexus One.
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