Apple silicon
The chips behind everything else on these pages. Apple has designed its own processors since the A4 in 2010 and now builds the whole range — the M-series for Macs and iPads, the A-series for iPhones, and a set of specialised chips for the Watch, AirPods, Vision Pro and more. Each row lists the manufacturing process, the core counts and headline features, the transistor count where Apple has published it, and the year.
Core counts list the highest configuration of each chip; lower-binned versions ship too. “Process” is the TSMC node it’s built on. Transistor counts are Apple’s own figures where disclosed, and “—” where they aren’t. B = billion.
M-series — Mac & iPad
| Chip | Process | Cores & features | Transistors | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 5nm | 8-core CPU (4P+4E), up to 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine — the first Mac chip | 16B | 2020 |
| M1 Pro | 5nm | Up to 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, more memory bandwidth | 33.7B | 2021 |
| M1 Max | 5nm | 10-core CPU, up to 32-core GPU, 400GB/s memory | 57B | 2021 |
| M1 Ultra | 5nm | Two M1 Max fused via UltraFusion — 20-core CPU, up to 64-core GPU | 114B | 2022 |
| M2 | 5nm | 8-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU, higher memory bandwidth than M1 | 20B | 2022 |
| M2 Pro | 5nm | Up to 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU | 40B | 2023 |
| M2 Max | 5nm | 12-core CPU, up to 38-core GPU, up to 96GB memory | 67B | 2023 |
| M2 Ultra | 5nm | Two M2 Max fused — 24-core CPU, up to 76-core GPU, up to 192GB | 134B | 2023 |
| M3 | 3nm | 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, hardware ray tracing — first 3nm PC chip | 25B | 2023 |
| M3 Pro | 3nm | Up to 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU | 37B | 2023 |
| M3 Max | 3nm | Up to 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, up to 128GB memory | 92B | 2023 |
| M3 Ultra | 3nm | Two M3 Max fused — 32-core CPU, up to 80-core GPU, up to 512GB | 184B | 2025 |
| M4 | 3nm | Up to 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, much faster Neural Engine | 28B | 2024 |
| M4 Pro | 3nm | Up to 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, Thunderbolt 5 | — | 2024 |
| M4 Max | 3nm | Up to 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, up to 128GB memory | — | 2024 |
| M5 | 3nm | 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU with per-core neural accelerators | — | 2025 |
A-series — iPhone & iPad
| Chip | Process | Cores & features | Transistors | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 45nm | Single-core CPU — Apple’s first in-house SoC, debuted in the iPad | — | 2010 |
| A5 | 45nm | Dual-core CPU and GPU — powered the iPhone 4S and the original iPad mini | — | 2011 |
| A6 | 32nm | First fully custom CPU cores (“Swift”), in the iPhone 5 | — | 2012 |
| A7 | 28nm | First 64-bit smartphone chip (“Cyclone”), Secure Enclave debut | >1B | 2013 |
| A8 | 20nm | Dual-core, big GPU jump — iPhone 6, later the HomePod and Apple TV HD | ~2B | 2014 |
| A9 | 14/16nm | Dual-core, big performance leap — iPhone 6s and the first iPhone SE | >2B | 2015 |
| A10 Fusion | 16nm | First big.LITTLE design — 2 performance + 2 efficiency cores | 3.3B | 2016 |
| A11 Bionic | 10nm | Six-core CPU and the first Neural Engine — powered Face ID on iPhone X | 4.3B | 2017 |
| A12 Bionic | 7nm | First 7nm phone chip, 8-core Neural Engine | 6.9B | 2018 |
| A13 Bionic | 7nm | Six-core CPU, big efficiency gains — iPhone 11 | 8.5B | 2019 |
| A14 Bionic | 5nm | First 5nm phone chip, 16-core Neural Engine | 11.8B | 2020 |
| A15 Bionic | 5nm | Six-core CPU, up to 5-core GPU — long-lived, used across four iPhone lines | 15B | 2021 |
| A16 Bionic | 4nm | Six-core CPU, faster memory — the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island chip | 16B | 2022 |
| A17 Pro | 3nm | First 3nm phone chip, hardware ray tracing, USB 3 — iPhone 15 Pro | 19B | 2023 |
| A18 | 3nm | Six-core CPU, Apple Intelligence-ready Neural Engine — iPhone 16 | — | 2024 |
| A18 Pro | 3nm | Faster GPU with ray tracing, more memory bandwidth — iPhone 16 Pro | — | 2024 |
| A19 / A19 Pro | 3nm | Latest generation — iPhone 17, Air and 17 Pro | — | 2025 |
Specialised chips
| Chip | Family | What it does | Debut | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 – S10 | Watch | System-in-package powering the Apple Watch — the whole computer on one module | Apple Watch | 2015– |
| W1 – W3 | Wireless | Fast Bluetooth pairing and power efficiency for early AirPods and Watch | AirPods | 2016– |
| H1 / H2 | Audio | Headphone chip for AirPods — audio processing, ANC, “Hey Siri,” low latency | AirPods (2nd gen) | 2018– |
| U1 | UWB | Ultra-wideband radio for Precision Finding — spatial awareness for AirTag & iPhone | iPhone 11 | 2019 |
| R1 | Vision | Real-time sensor processor in Vision Pro — streams cameras & sensors with ~12ms latency | Vision Pro | 2024 |
| C1 | Modem | Apple’s first in-house 5G cellular modem, replacing Qualcomm | iPhone 16e | 2025 |