Maynard Handley (name99.delete@this.name99.org) on November 20, 2020 9:51 am wrote:
> Doug S (foo.delete@this.bar.bar) on November 20, 2020 8:07 am wrote:
> > Maynard Handley (name99.delete@this.name99.org) on November 19, 2020 8:22 pm wrote:
> > > OK guys, M1 time is over. What's next?
> > >
> > > Something I just realized, and I think the timing works out beautifully:
> > > TSMC started N5P testing/Risk production in 2Q2020.
> > > Meaning that (and now that I think about it, it is so obvious!) the M1X will be on N5P!
> > > THAT is what's determining its schedule.
> > >
> > > There is a precedent. Remember that the A10 came out in Sept
> > > 2016, on 16nm. But the A10X came out in June 2017 on 10nm.
> > >
> > > This makes so much sense. It gives time Apple to improve some of the rushed bits of the M1, and gives
> > > a free 5% speed boost (which isn't much, sure, but may mean that M1X clocks at, say 3.5GHz)
> > > And gives Apple a second round of (totally justified!) "OMG,
> > > Apple is king, everyone else is doomed" publicity,
> > > say maybe in April or May, which should sustain them till the A15/iPhone next reveals in September.
> > >
> > > Well, six months or so to see if I'm right. tick tick tick
> >
>
> Everybody is reading MUCH more into this that I meant.
> The analogy is M1:M1X is A10:A10X
> Not redesigning any part of the CPU and SoC (except maybe fix
> a few errata that can be done easily and safely). JUST
> - Physical Optimization
> - Grow the parts that everyone expects to grow in an M1X (more cores, more GPU, more memory)
> - pick up the wins expected from this (5% performance from N5P over N5, probably some slight
> performance from POPT, so maybe enough to get you to 3.5GHz, maybe 3.4 in the same power envelope,
> maybe 20% density boost from POPT and whatever slight density tweaks N5P gives you)
>
> No IPC changes, no A15 core, which will come with the iPhones.


I'm not reading more than what you meant into it, I'm stating my own conclusion that if Apple really did rush or otherwise take it easy on A14 the only logical conclusion is because they've altered schedules to get the cores that will go into the A15 ready earlier in the year to use what you are calling M1X (but would probably be called M2-something if I'm right)