Apple's A12 Bionic processor and the race to 7nm architecture

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Each year as Apple unveils new iPhones, it releases a new Apple A processor which powers the device as well as allows specific features to work. Apple's been buying up chip companies as well as spearheading its own development on SoC's (Systems on a Chip).

The secret weapon of the iPhone (as well as the iPad) is really the complex yet insanely powerful architecture of the A12 Bionic chip, which works seamlessly with iOS to continuously keep iPhones performing above the level of most Android flagships which may have larger processors and more RAM.

The Apple A12 Bionic's spec sheet is impressive. A smaller sized chip contains both processing and graphics channels while setting aside ample space for the Neural Engine which powers A.I. and much of the iPhone's photographic power.

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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon chip for 4K TVs

The latest crop of smart televisions, particularly of the 4K Ultra HD variety, have all the latest video technology crammed into beautiful form factors. However, there is much left to do in terms of user interface and online integration. Qualcomm aims to boost the browsing and app capabilities of the UHD sets with Snapdragon 802 quad-core SoC to help with 4K content playback and application multi-tasking and operation. It even comes with Hollywood Quality Video processing engine designed to upscale 1080p videos to near 4K image quality.

Engadget reports some of the more technical specs including quad-core Krait 1.8GHz CPU; Adreno 330 GPU; AllJoyn integration; two-stream, dual-band 802.11ac; and Snapdragon Studio Access content protection.