Apple’s A20 Pro Front Side Die Shot Shows New Record For GPU Core Count To Deliver Better Graphics Performance, New Packaging Allows For Increased Memory Bus Width - Wccftech
A previous look at the A20 Pro not only revealed that the latter would feature newer packaging, but it would also have a bigger Neural Engine compared to the A19 Pro. For those who don’t know, the A20 Pro is expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, while also being found in Apple’s first foldable flagship, the iPhone Fold. The efficiency cores are where we could witness a difference, because the L2 cache is said to increase to 8MB, up from 6MB in the A19 Pro.
The upcoming “Surprise and Shine” event scheduled for September 9 will showcase Apple’s first-ever 2nm chipset for the iPhone, the A20 Pro. We’ve already had our initial glimpse at the SoC’s packaging, showing that Apple will move to WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) technology, ditching the older InFO_PoP solution. Now, we’ve stumbled upon our first front-side die shot of the silicon, showing a higher GPU core count and other improvements, so let us begin.
A previous look at the A20 Pro not only revealed that the latter would feature newer packaging, but it would also have a bigger Neural Engine compared to the A19 Pro. Now, thanks to Weibo user “White rice fried white rice,” he has shared a front die shot of the A20 Pro, and it didn’t take long for Reptalica to notice the leak as he posted his findings on Notebookcheck.
For those who don’t know, the A20 Pro is expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, while also being found in Apple’s first foldable flagship, the iPhone Fold. However, there are more interesting details that we’ve discussed here. Firstly, the A20 Pro’s CPU configuration remains unchanged, with two performance and four efficiency cores running at undisclosed speeds.
It appears that Apple doesn’t want to compromise the power efficiency of the A20 Pro, which is why it has retained the CPU cores at the same number. Unlike its competitors, the Cupertino firm can continue to deliver significant single-core and multi-core performance while keeping the core count unchanged. As for the L2 cache, the two performance cores each feature 16MB, which is the same as the A19 Pro’s L2 cache.
The efficiency cores are where we could witness a difference, because the L2 cache is said to increase to 8MB, up from 6MB in the A19 Pro. Coming to the biggest upgrade, the A20 Pro could offer a 7-core GPU, and thanks to the WMCM packaging, the memory dies will be placed beside the SoC die instead of being stacked on top of it, allowing the bus width to increase to 96 bits while retaining the LPDDR5X standard.
This approach helps to increase memory bandwidth without gravitating to the pricier LPDDR6 standard. However, we cannot comment on the energy efficiency, so we’ll have to revisit these details once the first wave of A20 Pro benchmarks are out. As for the Neural Engine or ISP blocks, those aren’t labeled, so there’s a lot more information that’s currently elusive. Fortunately, Apple’s September 9 event is just around the corner, so we’ll be updating readers in due time.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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