| General information | |
|---|---|
| Launched | September 19, 2025 |
| Designed by | Apple Inc. |
| Common manufacturer | |
| Product code | A19: Tilos A19 Pro: Thera |
| Max. CPU clock rate | to 4.26 GHz |
| Cache | |
| L2 cache | A19: 8 MB (performance cores) 4 MB (efficiency cores) A19 Pro: 16 MB (performance cores) 6 MB (efficiency cores) |
| Last level cache | A19: 12 MB (system level cache) A19 Pro: 32 MB (system level cache) |
| Architecture and classification | |
| Application | Mobile A19 A19 Pro |
| Technology node | 3 nm (TSMC N3P) |
| Instruction set | ARMv9.4-A[citation needed] |
| Physical specifications | |
| Transistors |
|
| Cores |
|
| Memory (RAM) |
|
| GPU | Apple-designed GPU with 5/6 cores (5 cores for iPhone Air) |
| Co-processor | 16-core Neural Engine, Apple N1 (wireless), Apple C1X (cellular, iPhone Air only) |
| History | |
| Predecessors | Apple A18 Pro (iPhone 16 Pro) Apple A18 (iPhone 16) |
The Apple A19 and Apple A19 Pro are a pair of 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. The A19 is used in the iPhone 17, while the A19 Pro is used in the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. Both chips are manufactured by TSMC using the N3P variant of their 3 nm process node. Announced on September 9, 2025, they are the successors to the Apple A18 and Apple A18 Pro processors, respectively.[1][2][3]
Design
[edit]CPU
[edit]Both the A19 and A19 Pro feature a 6-core CPU architecture with 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, operating at frequencies up to 4.26 GHz for performance cores and 2.60 GHz for efficiency cores.[4] The A19 Pro variant includes enhanced cache configurations and improved front-end bandwidth and branch prediction on the performance cores.
The performance cores in the A19 feature 8MB of L2 cache, while the efficiency cores have 4MB. The A19 Pro increases this to 16MB for performance cores and 6MB for efficiency cores. Additionally, the A19 includes a 12MB system-level cache, expanded to 32MB in the A19 Pro.[4]
GPU
[edit]The A19 features a 5-core Apple-designed GPU (80 execution units, 640 ALUs, 5 clusters) based on the new Apple10 architecture, while the A19 Pro includes both 5-core and 6-core configurations depending on the device (96 execution units, 768 ALUs, 6 clusters).[4] The iPhone Air uses the A19 Pro with a 5-core GPU, while the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max feature the full 6-core GPU configuration.
The Apple10 architecture introduces doubled FP16 performance compared to previous generations and includes dedicated tensor processing units called "Neural Accelerators" integrated into each GPU core. These units are optimized for matrix multiplication operations in machine learning workloads, enabling approximately up to 4x the peak GPU compute performance on the A19 Pro compared to the A18 Pro. The architecture also includes updated dynamic caching and unified image compression.[5]
Neural engine
[edit]The A19 series includes a 16-core Neural Engine with improved memory bandwidth compared to the A18 generation, and works alongside the GPU's integrated Neural Accelerators for AI-related tasks.
Wireless and connectivity
[edit]The A19 series introduces Apple's first in-house wireless chip, the N1, which enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity, replacing prior Broadcom solutions. This improves the performance and reliability of wireless features such as Personal Hotspot and AirDrop.
Certain models, including the iPhone Air, also feature Apple's C1X modem, which delivers up to 2× the performance of the C1 while using about 30% less energy, although it lacks mmWave support. The iPhone 17 Pro models continue to use Qualcomm modems for full 5G capability.
USB-C connectivity differs across the lineup. iPhone 17 Pro support USB 3 speeds (10 Gbit/s), while the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air remain limited to USB 2.0 speeds (480 Mbit/s) despite the Air using the A19 Pro chip.
Memory and media
[edit]The A19 series supports LPDDR5X memory with different specifications between variants. The A19 includes 8GB of LPDDR5X (8533 MT/s) memory providing 68.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, while the A19 Pro features 12GB of LPDDR5X (9600 MT/s) memory with bandwidth up to 75.8 GB/s. Both chips include updated display engines and image signal processors, with the A19 Pro exclusively supporting Apple ProRes RAW recording in addition to standard H.264, H.265, and ProRes formats.[5]
Security
[edit]Starting with all iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air, devices based on the A19 and A19 Pro include Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE), a hardware and software-based memory safety system utilizing ARM's Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) in synchronous mode. The system operates continuously to defend against buffer overflow and use-after-free vulnerabilities while protecting against side-channel attacks.[6][7]
Thermal management
[edit]The A19 Pro includes enhanced thermal management in the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models, featuring a vapor chamber containing deionized water, laser-welded into the aluminum unibody. This helps move heat away from the A19 Pro chip, enabling up to 40% better sustained performance during demanding tasks, such as video editing, gaming, and large language model processing.
Performance
[edit]According to initial benchmarks, the A19 demonstrates approximately 12% higher single-core CPU performance compared to the A18, with multi-core performance improvements of around 18% on Geekbench 6. GPU performance shows gains of approximately 33% over the A18.[8][9]
The A19 Pro increased single-core performance with approximately 15% and multi-core by 20% compared to the A18 Pro. GPU performance increased by ~27%, while sustained performance is ~36% higher on the iPhone 17 Pro compared to the 16 Pro.[9]
Products that include the A19 series
[edit]A19
[edit]- iPhone 17 – 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, 12MB system-level cache, 8GB LPDDR5X-8533 RAM
A19 Pro
[edit]- iPhone Air – 6-core CPU and 5-core GPU, 32MB system-level cache, 12GB LPDDR5X-8533 RAM[10], includes C1X cellular modem
- iPhone 17 Pro – 6-core CPU and 6-core GPU, 32MB system-level cache, 12GB LPDDR5X-9600 RAM, includes a Qualcomm X80[11] cellular modem and vapor chamber cooling
- iPhone 17 Pro Max – 6-core CPU and 6-core GPU, 32MB system-level cache, 12GB LPDDR5X-9600 RAM, includes Qualcomm X80[11] cellular modem and vapor chamber cooling
Technical specifications
[edit]| Specification | A19 | A19 Pro | A19 Pro (iPhone Air)[12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Codename[4] | Tilos | Thera | Thera |
| Part Number | T8150a | T8150 | T8150 |
| Fabrication Process | 3 Nanometer N3P | 3 Nanometer N3P | 3 Nanometer N3P |
| CPU Cores | 2 Performance + 4 Efficiency | 2 Performance + 4 Efficiency | 2 Performance + 4 Efficiency |
| CPU Clock Speed | 4.26 GHz (P), 2.60 GHz (E) | 4.26 GHz (P), 2.60 GHz (E) | 4.26 GHz (P), 2.60 GHz (E) |
| L2 Cache | 8 MB (P) + 4 MB (E) | 16MB (P) + 6 MB (E) | 16 MB (P) + 6 MB (E) |
| System-Level Cache | 12 MB | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| GPU Cores | 5 (20 SIMD EUs, 640 FP32 ALUs) | 6 (24 SIMD EUs, 768 FP32 ALUs) | 5 (20 SIMD EUs, 640 FP32 ALUs) |
| GPU Clock Speed | 1620 MHz | 1620 MHz | 1620 MHz |
| FP32 | 2.074 TFLOPS | 2.488 TFLOPS | 2.074 TFLOPS |
| AI Cores | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Memory Type | 8 GB LPDDR5X-8533 4266 MHz | 12 GB LPDDR5X-9600 4800 MHz | 12 GB LPDDR5X-8533 4266 MHz |
| Memory Bus Width | 64-Bit | 64-Bit | 64-Bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 68.3 GB/s | 75.8 GB/s | 68.3 GB/s |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Apple debuts iPhone 17". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ "Introducing iPhone Air, a powerful new iPhone with a breakthrough design". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ "Apple unveils iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ a b c d "Apple's new A19 Pro vs A19 comparison: new iPhone 17 chips have some major differences". TweakTown. 2025-09-15. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ a b Smith, Ryan (2025-09-13). "Apple Announces A19 and A19 Pro SoCs". More Than Moore. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ Apple Security Engineering and Architecture (SEAR) (September 9, 2025). "Memory Integrity Enforcement: A complete vision for memory safety in Apple devices". Apple Security Research. Apple Inc. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Hardwick, Tim (September 10, 2025). "iPhone 17 Introduces 'Groundbreaking' New Memory Security Feature". MacRumors. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ Velasco, John (2025-09-10). "Apple iPhone 17 review: Better upgrades than the Pros". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ a b "Apple iPhone 17, 17 Pro en Pro Max - De interessantste iPhone in jaren". Tweakers (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-09-17.
- ^ Sokolovsky, Mark (2025-09-10). "Apple A19 Pro Specs". Low End Mac. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ^ a b "iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Cellular Modem Capabilities". x.com. Archived from the original on 2025-09-18. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Sokolovsky, Mark (2025-09-10). "Apple A19 Pro Specs". Low End Mac. Retrieved 2025-11-03.