Surprise: A5 chip on the new Apple TV has two cores, not one, as disclosed by Apple

Apple A5 dual-core processor

Like the new iPad, the new Apple TV has also been dismantled. However, the differences for the old version (second generation) are not much more RAM (512MB), new A5 chip, support content in Full HD 1080p, a second antenna and only.

As we can see on the Apple TV specification page, the company details the chip as being a single-core, that is, with only a single processing core. Only Chipworks discovered something curious: besides the chip being manufactured in the 32 nanometer process before, it was 45 nanometers it * does * single-core, Yes it is dual-core! However, Apple preferred to "activate" only one core of the chip, leaving the other disabled.

It is the first Apple chip manufactured at 32nm, since even the A5X, used in the new iPad, uses the 45nm process. The result of this is that the A5 of the new Apple TV is 41% smaller than the chip found in the iPhone 4S being even more efficient and economical. However, as the set-top box connected directly to energy, this efficiency is not as important as, for example, in a iGadget.

The truth is that such an investment to “just” equip Apple TV, a product that hobby for the company, it doesn't make much sense. What is Ma planning for this chip? For now, only she knows.

(via MacRumors)