Analysis of a New A5
The Apple TV is an incredibly relevant device today. It’s Apple’s attempt to augment the Netflixes and Hulu Pluses of the world with an on-demand cable TV alternative. Other companies are working on the same problem, with different solutions. Even Intel recently threw its hat into the ring.
Apple famously refers to the Apple TV as a hobby, but I view it as more of an experiment. A test for the infrastructure, the delivery mechanism and a test of how to work with content companies. Long term if the Apple TV is to become something much more than it is, it’ll have to be more aggressive in delivering content, but for now it exists as a very successful experiment.
Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year. That’s $495M in revenue for the year just from the Apple TV. That’s not a lot of money for Apple, but it’s a business of considerable size. Given the low (relative to Apple’s other products) price point for the Apple TV, and steadily ramping shipment volume, it makes sense that the device would be a target for cost optimization. And that’s exactly what appears to have happened with the latest update to the platform.
Apple still refers to this new Apple TV as a 3rd generation platform, and it doesn’t introduce any new features, but it does carry a different model string:
|
Apple TV Models |
|||||
|
|
Year Released |
Model |
New Features |
||
|
Apple TV (1st gen) |
2007 |
A1218 |
Initial Release |
||
|
Apple TV (2nd gen) |
2010 |
A1378 |
New Platform |
||
|
Apple TV (3rd gen) |
2012 |
A1427 |
1080p, WLAN+ |
||
|
Apple TV (3rd gen, rev2) |
2013 |
A1469 |
New Silicon |
||
The small increment in model gives you an indication of the magnitude of change here.
No new functionality is added, but the device just gets cheaper for Apple to make. How Apple got there is particularly interesting.
Out with the Old, in with the Same
The Apple TV is a great device for anyone who lives purely within the Apple ecosystem. Users looking to play their own content that’s not already in an iTunes friendly format will have to either transcode or look elsewhere for something a bit more flexible. Apple must walk a fine line between tending to the needs of its customers while at the same time not upsetting the content owners that work with the company on the iTunes side of things. If you’re looking for a pirate box, the Apple TV is not the best solution.
The Apple TV runs its own OS and there’s no application compatibility between it and the iPhone/iPad, despite running on very similar hardware and software. I suspect Apple recognizes the difficulty in simply opening the floodgates for a bunch of applications that were optimized for touch to run on a platform that’s controlled with a tiny remote.
The Apple TV OS itself saw a major update last year, substantially changing the UI. Its functionality remained largely unchanged with this update, and since then not all that much has changed either — although there have been improvements since our review last year. Hulu Plus is now a supported streaming service on the Apple TV.
As Brian summed up in our last review, the Apple TV remains a competent Netflix box and does a great job of interfacing with all iTunes services (Photo Stream, iTunes Match, as well as iTunes video content). There’s always room for improvement of course, but if you do live in the Apple/iTunes ecosystem the experience is pretty decent.
The Apple TV also acts as an AirPlay sink, you can use it as a wireless receiver for display sent from a Mac running Mountain Lion as well as your iPhone/iPad.
None of this has changed with the new Apple TV, nor has the external hardware — we’re still dealing with the same chassis and port configuration as before.
To truly appreciate what’s new about A1469 however, you have to dive inside.
Inside A1469
A1427 (left) vs. A1469 (right)
Getting inside the new revision of the Apple TV is no different than the previous model, the bottom snaps into place so you’ll need to pry it open with some (strong) plastic tools. Once the bottom is somewhat separated, just pull it out and you’re done.
Gallery: Apple TV 2013 (A1469)
Internally the name of the game is cost reduction. Whereas the previous model (A1427) had a metal slab stacked on top of the PCB, the new Apple TV moves the heatspreader to the bottom of the chassis entirely — simplifying assembly.
The power supply remains unchanged (3.4V, 1.75A), and there are just two cables running to the Apple TV’s PCB: one for the PSU and one for the power/status LED. Remove a few screws and we can pull out the PCB.
The overall PCB size hasn’t changed tremendously, but the layout and component arrangements have.
The changes to the bottom of the PCB (what you first see when you open up the Apple TV) aren’t significant, it’s what happens on the flip side that’s more interesting.
A1427 (left) vs. A1469 (right)
Apple moved to a highly integrated ceramic package from USI for the WiFi/BT solution, which saved a good amount of board area. Apple also went back to a single antenna design, further reducing complexity from the short stint with the dual-antenna design in the A1427 model.
Removing the single large EMI shield we see the remaining changes. The single-core A5 SoC saw a package size reduction, and the DRAM is no longer integrated in a PoP (Package-on-Package) stack but is rather a discrete component.
|
Apple Silicon Evolution |
|||||
|
Internal Name |
External Name |
Used In |
Fab + Process Node |
||
|
S5L8940 |
Apple A5 |
iPad 2, iPhone 4S |
Samsung 45nm |
||
|
S5L8942 |
Apple A5r2 |
iPad 2,4, Apple TV 3 |
Samsung 32nm |
||
|
S5L8945 |
Apple A5X |
iPad 3 |
Samsung 45nm |
||
|
S5L8947 |
Apple A5 |
Apple TV 3r2 |
Samsung 32nm |
||
|
S5L8950 |
Apple A6 |
iPhone 5 |
Samsung 32nm |
||
|
S5L8955 |
Apple A6X |
iPad 4 |
Samsung 32nm |
||
The old A5 package measured roughly 14mm x 13mm, while the new package is approximately 12mm x 12mm.
2 in the previous A5 design.
Thanks to Chipworks’ analysis we know that both of these chips are still made on Samsung’s 32nm process, meaning that Apple’s experimenting with a new silicon revision isn’t to act as a pipe cleaner for a new process (as it was with the previous gen Apple TV) but rather to reduce cost.
The move to a smaller die directly impacts cost, as does the move away from a PoP stack and to external DRAM. It could very well be that Apple is finally selling enough Apple TVs to warrant a custom A5 of its own rather than continue to ship die harvested A5s from iPhones/iPads. The problem with relying exclusively on die harvesting is that eventually, as yields improve, you end up selling fully functional (and unnecessarily expensive) silicon into a market that’s unwilling to pay for the added performance. If you’ve got the volumes to justify it, it usually makes sense to bring out custom silicon for major price points. This is why Intel ships multiple configurations in its processor families (e.
g. there are distinct dual and quad-core Ivy Bridge die in Intel’s lineup, this avoids Intel having to sell a disabled $300 quad-core chip as a $100 dual-core chip).
32nm Apple A5 — S5L8942 (left) vs. new Apple A5 for ATV S5L8947 (right) — Chipworks
There’s also the possibility that Apple would use this part in another device entirely.
I was curious to see if power was impacted at all, but as we’ve seen in previous Apple TVs the power draw at the wall is very low — on the order of a couple of watts. Slight silicon changes require much finer grained power analysis.
Pulling a page from our recent foray into measuring tablet power consumption, I wired an external power supply to the Apple TV motherboard and measured total platform power draw. There aren’t exactly any benchmarks for the Apple TV, but I put together a few tests to stress video decode, CPU and a little bit of GPU performance.
All of my tests were run on Ethernet, but I did connect to an 5GHz 802.
11n network to see if there were any changes in power consumption due to the new wireless stack.
On Brian’s suggestion I streamed the hilariously awesome Netflix 29.97 short, as well as the 1080p Skyfall trailer. Both of these tasks should be handled by the A5’s video decode block.
I also enabled Photo Stream on the Apple TV, and recorded power consumption while scrolling back and forth through a gallery of my last 68 photos. This test drives CPU usage and power consumption.
Finally I ran an idle power test.
|
Apple TV (3rd gen) Platform Power Consumption |
||||
|
|
A1427 (2012) |
A1469 (2013) |
||
|
Idle — Min Power (Ethernet Connected) |
1.  41W |
0.70W |
||
|
Photo Stream Scrolling (CPU Test) |
1.84W |
1.07W |
||
|
Skyfall 1080p iTunes Trailer (Ethernet) |
1.58W |
0.81W |
||
|
Skyfall 1080p iTunes Trailer (5GHz WiFi) |
1.55W |
0.85W |
||
|
Netflix 29.97 Short (Ethernet) |
1.62W |
0.85W |
||
The power savings are nothing short of significant. The previous generation Apple TV wasn’t really a power hog, with platform power maxing out at around 1.
6W, but the new model tops out at just a watt. Overall the power savings seem to be around 800mW across the board.
With no change to process technology, I can only assume that the reduction in power consumption came from other architectural or silicon optimizations. The significant power reduction is the only thing that makes me wonder if this new A5 silicon isn’t destined for another device, perhaps one powered by a battery. That’s pure speculation however, it could very well be that the A5 in the Apple TV is just lower power for the sake of being better designed.
Floorplan of new Apple A5 S5L8947 for ATV — Chipworks
Brian asked me how long it would take to make up the cost of the new Apple TV compared to the previous model (A1427) in power savings alone. Assuming you’re using the Apple TV for watching video 8 hours a day, every day of the year, you’d save about $0.26 per year on your power bill (assuming $0.
11/kWh). You’d break even on the $99 cost of a new Apple TV in about 385 years. Maybe by then we’ll actually have a true replacement to cable TV.
I didn’t notice any performance difference between the two platforms, but given the nature of the Apple TV it’s kind of difficult to really say for sure.
Wireless Performance
With the previous model (A1427), Apple improved WiFi performance through the use of two antennas and driving the primary antenna at a higher gain. With the A1469 model, Apple moves back to a lower gain, single antenna design however driven by a new WiFi solution (likely BCM4334 based).
I was curious to see if there was a noticeable difference in WiFi performance, however in my testing I noted very similar performance to the A1427 version of the 3rd gen Apple TV:
|
Apple TV (3rd gen) WiFi Performance |
||||||||||
|
|
Apple TV (A1469) |
Apple TV (A1427) |
||||||||
|
|
Signal (dBm) |
Noise (dB) |
Rate (Mbps) |
Band (GHz) |
Signal (dBm) |
Noise (dB) |
Rate (Mbps) |
Band (GHz) |
||
|
Location 1 (Close) |
-38 |
-95 |
54 |
5 |
-44 |
-96 |
54 |
5 |
||
|
Location 2 (Far) |
-70 |
-88 |
54 |
2.  4 |
-69 |
-90 |
54 |
2.4 |
||
Final Words
The latest Apple TV doesn’t change functionality, nor does it appear to be a step back in performance. The A1469 model really helps Apple reduce costs, both through better engineering and through a physically smaller A5 SoC.
The implications of this smaller, lower power A5 SoC are unclear to me at this point. It seems to me that the Apple TV now sells well enough to warrant the creation of its own SoC, rather than using a handmedown from the iPad/iPhone lineup. The only question that remains is whether or not we’ll see this unique A5 revision appear in any other devices. There’s not a whole lot of room for a single-core Cortex A9 in Apple’s existing product lineup, so I’m encouraged to believe that this part is exclusively for the Apple TV.
Then again, I’m not much of a fortune teller.
Tweet
redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations
Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that – rumor mongering – Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.
AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)…
The reworked Apple TV carries a model number of A1469, as opposed to the 2012 Apple TV model number A1427. “Internally the name of the game is cost reduction,” writes AnandTech’s Anand Lal Shimpi.
Indeed, the new model a metal slab from the top of the montherboard to the bottom of the chassis for easier and less expensive assembly.
The 2012 Apple TV (left) model A1427 and the 2013 A1469 model (right).
The power supply is the same 3.4V, 1.75A module as before and the face of the motherboard shows rearranged components. Apple engineers moved to a highly integrated ceramic package from USI for the WiFi/BT solution, which saved a good amount of board area.
They also went back to a new Broadcom Wi-Fi chip and a single antenna design (though this won’t affect your Wi-Fi performance), further reducing complexity from the short stint with the dual-antenna design in the A1427 model.
The die-shrink single-core Apple A5 chip is nearly 50 percent smaller than the A5 package from the 2012 Apple TV variant: 37.8mm² versus 69mm² in the previous A5 design. Chipworks has a nice side-by-side comparison of the 2012 (left) and 2013 (right) Apple TV’s processor.
AnandTech confirms Chipworks’ findings: Apple actually removed one CPU core versus just disabling it, like with last year’s Apple TV processor (the dual-core GPU remains untouched). The smaller A5 also no longer integrates DRAM on the chip – it’s a discrete component now.
The die-shrunk A5 floorplan courtesy of Chipworks.
The smaller die and external DRAM both simplify chip production and therefore impact cost. Actually, that’s the reason why Apple in this new Apple TV opted for a customized A5 variant rather than continue to ship die-harvested A5 chip from earlier iPhones and iPads.
The problem with relying exclusively on die harvesting is that eventually, as yields improve, you end up selling fully functional (and unnecessarily expensive) silicon into a market that’s unwilling to pay for the added performance.
If you’ve got the volumes to justify it, it usually makes sense to bring out custom silicon for major price points.
Apple might have other plans for the smaller A5, including using it in another device entirely (hint: budget iPhone).
Chipworks acknowledged as much yesterday:
Maybe Apple now thinks that sales will be enough to justify a dedicated part, or maybe we are going to see another single-core device in a different product line.
AnandTech also tested the new and old model’s power consumption and walked away impressed by the 2013 model’s noticeably smaller power draw.
As you can see from the table above, the 2012 Apple TV maxed at around 1.6W, while the 2013 model tops out at just a watt, for a cool 800mW power saving.
The significant power reduction could be attributed to the new A5 chip design because there are no other major changes to the set-top box’s innards or the chip’s process technology (it’s still being fabbed on Samsung’s 32-nanometer process).
This is the 2013 Apple TV motherboard.
Note how tiny the A5 processor is.
Assuming you’re using the Apple TV for watching video eight hours a day, every day of the year, the new Apple TV would save about $0.26 per year on your power bill (assuming $0.11/kWh). “You’d break even on the $99 cost of a new Apple TV in about 385 years”, the publication notes.
A closeup of the new die-shrunk A5 component inside the retooled Apple TV
The writer opines that the significant power reduction “is the only thing that makes me wonder if this new A5 silicon isn’t destined for another device, perhaps one powered by a battery,” in what could be interpreted as a nod to a rumored iWatch, where Apple is reportedly facing battery challenges with early smartwatch prototypes.
AnandTech sums up:
The small increment in model gives you an indication of the magnitude of change here. No new functionality is added, but the device just gets cheaper for Apple to make.
All told, looks like Apple at the very least invested in making this year’s Apple TV cheaper to manufacture, which makes sense given growing sales and tiny profit margin on the $99 device.
Apple’s semiconductor teams employ more than a thousand talented engineers that don’t come cheap, headed by SVP Bob Mansfield to heads the new Technologies unit which encompasses Apple’s wireless and semiconductor teams.
If Apple decided that reducing the size of the A5 chip was worth the effort, so be it.
It is my opinion, however, there’s more to this than meets the eye and that we might as well see this smaller and more energy efficient processor find its way into some unreleased products.
What’s your read of the situation?
Apple TV Model Identification — Apple Support (UK)
This article provides information about identifying your Apple TV model by model number and other features.
Apple TV (1st generation)
year of release: 2007
Color: silver
Memory volume: 40 or 160 GB
Model number: A1218
Remote control control (white color)
Identifications
Ports and connectors for each model are listed below.
Apple TV 4K (2nd generation)
- HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K60 HDR10 and Dolby Vision video output)
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 with MIMO support; two simultaneous bands (2.4 and 5 GHz)
- Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
- Flow
- IR receiver
Apple TV 4K (1st generation)
- HDMI 2.0a (2160p, Dolby Vision and HDR10)
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 802.11ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO support; two simultaneous bands (2.4 and 5 GHz)
- Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
- IR receiver
Apple TV HD
Previous Apple TV (4th generation)
- HDMI 1.4 (720p or 1080p)
- 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO support)
- Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
- IR receiver
- USB-C (for service and support)
Apple TV (3rd generation)
- HDMI (720p or 1080p)
- 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
- Wi-Fi (802.
11a/b/g/n) - Optical audio port
- IR receiver
- Micro-USB (for service and support)
Apple TV (2nd generation)
- HDMI (720p)
- 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
- Optical audio port
- IR receiver
- Micro-USB (for service and support)
Apple TV (1st generation)
- HDMI and component video (480p or 720p)
- 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
- Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n)
- Optical digital audio output and RCA analog stereo audio output
- IR receiver
- USB 2.0 (for service and support)
Finding your device model
You can find your Apple TV model number in three ways.
Check Settings
On the Apple TV Home screen, go to Settings > General > About Apple TV and check Model.
Check the bottom of your Apple TV
Check the information label on the bottom of your Apple TV for the model number.
Check box
Check the back of the box that your Apple TV came in for the model number.
- Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD come with the same remote in all countries. In countries and regions where Siri is supported, this remote is called Siri Remote. In all other countries it is called Apple TV Remote. Siri works with any of these remotes as long as the supported language and country/region are selected in the Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD settings.
- Previous Apple TV HD models included Siri Remote (1st generation) or Apple TV Remote (1st generation) without the white ring around the Menu button.
Publication date:
Thank you for your feedback.
|
|