Next year marks the first time that Apple will introduce its first 2nm chipsets, the A20 and A20 Pro, bringing new performance and efficiency leaps that could not be achieved by the A19 and A19 Pro, thanks to being limited to TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ process. However, it is not just the advanced lithography that plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the next-generation SoCs flaunt the aforementioned attributes, but a series of other technological advancements that go ‘hand in hand’ with the 2nm node. Here, we discuss which of these advancements will show up in the A20 and A20 Pro.
Chip packaging to change from InFO (Integrated Fan-Out) to WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chi Module) - Here’s what makes this transition so important
Perhaps the biggest difference potentially arriving to the A20 and A20 Pro is a switch from InFO packaging to WMCM. The latter can combine multiple individual dies, such as the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, onto a single package, whereas InFO adds various components onto a single die. The change in packaging will result in several advantages, which are listed below.
- Better chipset design flexibility: By adding different dies, Apple can create various chip configurations using different CPU and GPU cores. The company could bring something similar when it launches the M5 Pro and M5 Max, and these two are said to feature separate CPU and GPU blocks.
- Improved scalability, giving the option to create multiple products: WMCM can provide Apple with a baseline configuration, which can later be used to design the A20, A20 Pro, followed by the significantly more powerful M6, M6 Pro, and M6 Max.
- Upgraded efficiency: The tighter integration of various dies helps reduce power consumption compared to having all components present on a single die. The CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine dies could behave individually, and request a power draw based on the specific task.
- Streamlined manufacturing to lower cost and boost yields: WMCM employs MUF (Molding Underfill), which helps to reduce material consumption and the number of processes. In short, Apple’s A20 and A20 Pro can be produced in higher volume with a minimum number of defective chips, helping to offset the increased cost of using TSMC’s 2nm process next year.
Increased cache
The A19 and A19 Pro feature an efficiency core L2 cache of 4MB and 6MB, with SLC (System-Level Cache) increased to 32MB on the flagship SoC, up from 24MB, with the A19 sporting 12MB. This year’s performance core L2 cache bandwidth has risen to 120GB/s on the A19 Pro, up from 82GB/s on the A18 Pro, ultimately boosting theoretical memory bandwidth to 76.8GB/s, with the A19 achieving 68.3GB/s.
Given that Apple has introduced a ton of improvements on the cache side, the A20 and A20 Pro will undoubtedly receive the same treatment. Given below are our assumptions of what cache size to expect next year by comparing Apple’s older chipsets, so take a look at the details below.
- A20 - 8MB L2 cache for performance cores, 4MB for efficiency cores L2 efficiency cores, 12MB SLC cache
- A20 Pro - 16MB L2 cache for performance cores, 8MB for efficiency cores L2 cache, 36MB-48MB SLC cache
Improved efficiency cores
The magic that Apple introduced with the A19 and A19 Pro this year was in the efficiency cores. Sure, the performance cores always witness a small bump in frequency, which translates into higher single-core and multi-core performance gains. This was possible because the company introduced major architectural changes to the A19 Pro’s four efficiency cores.
Despite running at 2.60GHz, a mere increase over the A18 Pro’s 2.42GHz, the A19 Pro registers an impressive 29 percent improvement in integer performance and a 22 percent increase in floating-point performance when testing the SPEC 2017 benchmark. If we just compare instructions per cycle (IPC) improvements, there is a 21 percent difference between the two chipset generations in integer performance and a 14 percent improvement in floating-point performance.
All of these improvements were made without any increase in power consumption, so even if Apple doesn’t focus on the A20’s and A20 Pro’s performance cores, the improved 2nm lithography could help it design even better efficiency cores.
3rd-generation Dynamic Cache for the GPU
Dynamic Cache was introduced in the A17 Pro and allowed the GPU to allocate on-chip memory in real time based on what the workload required. Dynamic Cache is significantly different from fixed partitions, where each GPU block has a fixed amount of memory assigned. With Dynamic Cache, Apple brought in a multitude of improvements to its mobile silicon, which have been mentioned below.
- Fewer wasted memory resources
- Better performance per watt
- Higher consistent frame times
- Increased GPU utilization
Apple’s 2nd-generation Dynamic Cache allocates memory in smaller amounts, resulting in even less memory being wasted while keeping the shader cores busy. Thanks to the A19 Pro’s larger 32MB SLC cache, that integration is improved. For the 3rd-generation Dynamic Cache expected to arrive for the A20 Pro, we expect memory to be allocated in even smaller amounts, with the allocation process happening much faster, leading to less wasted resources.
As mentioned above, the A20 Pro’s 3rd-generation Dynamic Cache is expected to deliver improved performance and efficiency due to Apple’s anticipated increase in the SLC cache size. Since a lot of games on current Apple hardware are played using emulation, the arrival of 3rd-generation Dynamic Cache could smooth the gameplay drastically for non-native titles.
Which iPhone 18 model will feature Apple’s A20 and A20 Pro next year?
The iPhone 18 series is expected to launch next year, and for the first time, Apple is scheduled to introduce its first foldable device alongside the flagship models, the iPhone Fold. However, the Cupertino firm has been reported to revamp its launch strategy extensively, with the base iPhone 18 possibly getting rebranded to iPhone 20 and getting unveiled next to the iPhone 18e in Q1 2027.
As for the iPhone Air 2, poor iPhone Air sales pretty much meant that we will not witness any sleek flagship launch next year, and it could be delayed to 2027. In short, the A20 Pro will probably be demonstrated first in the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Fold next year, followed by the A20 powering the iPhone 20’s innards in 2027.
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