# Apple A10
**Apple A10** (marketed as the **A10 Fusion**) is a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip designed by Apple and manufactured by TSMC, first shipped in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in September 2016. It was Apple's first mobile SoC with a heterogeneous CPU design, pairing two high-performance cores with two high-efficiency cores, and it carried an embedded M10 motion coprocessor and an Apple Secure Enclave.[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) • [2](https://www.apple.com/ae/healthcare/products-platform/docs/Deploying_iPhone_for_Nursing_Guide_Nov17.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Debut | iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, announced 7 September 2016[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) |
| CPU | Four cores: two high-performance cores up to 2x faster than iPhone 6, two high-efficiency cores running at one-fifth the power[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) |
| Clock speed | High-performance cores at about 2.34 GHz, versus 1.84 GHz for the A9[3](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/) |
| Process and size | TSMC 16 nm FinFET, 3.3 billion transistors, die size about 125 mm²[4](https://farimah.ece.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ITC-2021.pdf) |
| GPU | Six-core custom PowerVR GT7600 (Series 7XT), up to 50% faster than the A9's GPU[5](https://www.pcworld.com/article/411194/the-mysteries-of-the-gpu-in-apples-iphone-7-are-unlocked.html) • [6](https://www.anandtech.com/show/10658/apple-announces-iphone-7-iphone-7-plus) |
| Memory | 2 GB Samsung LPDDR4 in the iPhone 7 (3 GB in the 7 Plus), stacked package-on-package using TSMC InFO packaging[7](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone%2B7%2BTeardown/67382) • [8](https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/15/ifixit-teardown-reveals-exactly-what-replaced-the-iphone-7s-headphone-jack/) • [9](https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown) |
| Performance claims | CPU up to 40% faster than the A9; graphics up to 3x faster than iPhone 6 at half the power[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) |
## CPU architecture
The A10 Fusion's CPU has four cores in two pairs. Apple's launch description integrated two high-performance cores, which run up to two times faster than the iPhone 6's processor, with two high-efficiency cores capable of running at just one-fifth the power of the performance cores.[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) This was the first time Apple used heterogeneous cores rather than relying exclusively on clock speed scaling, an approach analogous to ARM's big.LITTLE design.[3](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/)
**Scheduling behavior.** Apple told reviewers that only two of the four cores can be lit up at any one time, with iOS deciding automatically which tasks run on the low-power cores and which run on the high-performance cores. [Ars Technica](https://www.edgepedia.org/ars-technica) confirmed in the Xcode Activity Monitor that iOS and its software see only two logical processor cores, so the chip functions in practice as a very fast dual-core CPU.[3](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/) The two fast cores run at about 2.34 GHz, a 27% clock speed increase over the A9's roughly 1.84 GHz, which accounts for most but not all of the measured 30 to 40 percent performance gains over the iPhone 6s.[3](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/)
The performance cores carry the internal code names Hurricane and Zephyr; Apple's later A10X Fusion for iPad Pro enlarged the design to three Fusion core pairs, up from two pairs on the A10, with 8 MB of L2 cache tied to the CPU.[10](https://www.anandtech.com/show/11596/techinsights-confirms-apple-a10x-soc-10nm-tsmc)
## GPU and coprocessors
The graphics unit is a six-core design that Apple said was up to 50% faster than the A9's GPU and up to three times faster than the iPhone 6 while using as little as half the power.[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) • [6](https://www.anandtech.com/show/10658/apple-announces-iphone-7-iphone-7-plus) Apple did not name the GPU's architecture at launch, but an analysis by The Linley Group, a semiconductor research firm, identified it as a custom version of the PowerVR GT7600, based on the same [Imagination Technologies](https://www.edgepedia.org/imagination-technologies) architecture used in the iPhone 6s, with tweaks for the speed boost.[5](https://www.pcworld.com/article/411194/the-mysteries-of-the-gpu-in-apples-iphone-7-are-unlocked.html) A Qualcomm lawsuit filing likewise describes the A10 GPU as a version of the PowerVR GT7600 in the PowerVR Series 7XT line.[11](https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qcomm-martech/dm-assets/documents/2017-07-06_complaint.pdf)
The SoC also integrates an Apple-designed image signal processor that processes over 100 billion operations on a single photo in as little as 25 milliseconds, and an embedded M10 motion coprocessor.[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) • [2](https://www.apple.com/ae/healthcare/products-platform/docs/Deploying_iPhone_for_Nursing_Guide_Nov17.pdf)
## Manufacturing and packaging
TechInsights' teardown of the iPhone 7 identified the A10 by Apple part number APL1W24 with die part number TMGK98, and confirmed the process as TSMC 16FF-based (16 nm FinFET). The die measures about 125 mm² with a reported 3.3 billion transistors.[9](https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown) • [4](https://farimah.ece.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ITC-2021.pdf) TechInsights noted that Apple had remained on 20/16 nm-class technology for three generations, and that tighter die utilization and the 16FFC process libraries kept the die from growing to the roughly 150 mm² a straight transistor-count scale of the A9 would have implied.[9](https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown)
**Packaging.** The A10 sits below a Samsung K3RG1G10CM 2-GB LPDDR4 memory package in a package-on-package arrangement. X-ray imaging showed the four DRAM dies spread across the package rather than stacked, keeping package height low; the InFO (integrated fan-out) packaging technique reduces the total PoP height significantly, and the chip itself was described as "incredibly thin".[9](https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown)
## Security
The A10 Fusion fabricates an Apple Secure Enclave, a dedicated secure subsystem isolated from the main processor that keeps sensitive user data secure even if the Application Processor kernel is compromised.[12](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec59b0b31ff/web) On A10 or later SoCs, the Secure Enclave Boot ROM locks a hash of the sepOS into a dedicated register, which the Public Key Accelerator uses for operating-system-bound (OS-bound) keys, also called Sealed Key Protection.[12](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec59b0b31ff/web) The Secure Enclave's cryptographic hardware in the A10 Fusion, the Secure Key Generator, was separately validated under NIST's Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program for AES-CBC and AES-ECB capabilities, first validated on 19 February 2019.[13](https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-algorithm-validation-program/details?validation=30713)
## Performance in context
Apple's headline claims were broadly confirmed by independent testing: the A10 is about 40% faster than the A9 in CPU work and twice as fast as the iPhone 6's A8, and the GPU gains of up to 50% over the A9 held in OpenGL and [Metal](https://www.edgepedia.org/metal-api) benchmarks.[3](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/) The efficiency cores contributed to battery life: Apple claimed up to two hours more use than the iPhone 6s, and AnandTech's testing found the iPhone 7 significantly improved in battery life, attributing this to the A10 Fusion's power optimizations, particularly the small CPU cores.[1](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/) • [14](https://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/10685?all=False&cPage=28&page=5&slug=the-iphone-7-and-iphone-7-plus-review&sort=0)
The successor A11 Bionic, launched a year later in the iPhone 8, set the pace of improvement: its two performance cores are 25% faster and its four efficiency cores 70% faster than the A10 Fusion's, and the A11 was also the first Apple SoC with a dedicated Neural Engine.[15](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/iphone-8-and-iphone-8-plus-a-new-generation-of-iphone/) • [16](https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.22283)
## References
1. [Apple Introduces iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Newsroom (UK), 7 September 2016](https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2016/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPhone-7-iPhone-7-Plus-The-Best-Most-Advanced-iPhone-Ever/)
2. [Deploying iPhone for Nursing Care, Apple (November 2017)](https://www.apple.com/ae/healthcare/products-platform/docs/Deploying_iPhone_for_Nursing_Guide_Nov17.pdf)
3. [iPhone 7 and 7 Plus review: Great annual upgrades with one major catch, Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/iphone-7-and-7-plus-review-great-annual-upgrades-with-one-major-catch/)
4. [SoC Security Verification, ITC 2021 (University of Florida)](https://farimah.ece.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ITC-2021.pdf)
5. [The mysteries of the GPU in Apple's iPhone 7 are unlocked, PCWorld](https://www.pcworld.com/article/411194/the-mysteries-of-the-gpu-in-apples-iphone-7-are-unlocked.html)
6. [Apple Announces iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus: A10 Fusion SoC, AnandTech](https://www.anandtech.com/show/10658/apple-announces-iphone-7-iphone-7-plus)
7. [iPhone 7 Teardown, iFixit](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone%2B7%2BTeardown/67382)
8. [iFixit iPhone 7 teardown reveals exactly what replaced the headphone jack, 9to5Mac](https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/15/ifixit-teardown-reveals-exactly-what-replaced-the-iphone-7s-headphone-jack/)
9. [Apple iPhone 7 Teardown, TechInsights](https://www.techinsights.com/blog/apple-iphone-7-teardown)
10. [TechInsights Confirms Apple's A10X SoC Is TSMC 10nm FF, AnandTech](https://www.anandtech.com/show/11596/techinsights-confirms-apple-a10x-soc-10nm-tsmc)
11. [Qualcomm v. Apple complaint, filed 6 July 2017](https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qcomm-martech/dm-assets/documents/2017-07-06_complaint.pdf)
12. [The Secure Enclave, Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec59b0b31ff/web)
13. [Apple Secure Enclave Processor Hardware SKG (A10 Fusion), NIST CAVP](https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-algorithm-validation-program/details?validation=30713)
14. [Battery Life and Charge Time, The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Review, AnandTech](https://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/10685?all=False&cPage=28&page=5&slug=the-iphone-7-and-iphone-7-plus-review&sort=0)
15. [iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: A new generation of iPhone, Apple Newsroom](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/09/iphone-8-and-iphone-8-plus-a-new-generation-of-iphone/)
16. [Apple Neural Engine: Architecture, Programming, and Performance, arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.22283)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Computer hardware › Processors & processor engineering › Microarchitecture & implementation › Apple silicon microarchitectures*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license