Apple A14 Bionic Chip Makes Its Way to iPad Air (4th Gen) Before iPhone 12

Apple A14 Bionic processor has a 6-core sketch that offers 40 percent boost in CPU overall performance and 30 percent boost in graphics.

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Apple A14 Bionic processor is based on 5nm manufacturing process

A14 Bionic offers forty percent boost in CPU performance, Apple claims

Apple typically debuts its new processors with the latest iPhone models

iPad Air (4th Gen) has been introduced with the new and improved Apple A14 Bionic processor, even before the SoC could make its debut in the next-generation iPhone lineup. This is a rare incidence as Apple typically introduces a new chip with a new iPhone generation and then adds it to the iPad lineup. Apple is calling A14 Bionic “the most powerful chip ever made.” The final time Apple introduced a new chip in iPad before iPhone was with the iPad 2 launch in March 2011.

Apple A14 Bionic chip

The A14 Bionic processor, as described via Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, provides a massive boost in overall performance that helps in bringing powerful pro features at a more inexpensive price. This six-core processor is present in the iPad Air (4th Gen) brings a 40 percent boost in CPU performance and 30 precent improvement in graphics, compared to the previous generation.

Typically, Apple's the new processors make their debut with new iPhone models and then make their way to the iPad models. This year, however, the iPad Air (4th Gen) has grow to be the first device to come with the new chip and the upcoming iPhone 12 models, that do not have a release date yet, are expected to follow.

As mentioned, this is not the first time Apple has done this. 9 years ago, the iPad 2 got the A5 processor months before the iPhone 4S got here out. But, traditionally, Apple keeps its new processors for the latest iPhone models first.

Talking about the A14 Bionic, Apple says it uses 5nm manufacturing procedure and has 11.8 billion transistors. It is also capable of performing up to 11 trillion operations per second, thanks to the new 16-core Neural Engine that is twice as fast as the preceding generation.