iPhone X A11 chip with six processor cores to be Apple's most powerful yet
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According to developer Steve Troughton-Smith, the iOS 11 leak revealed that the Apple A11 chip will feature six processor cores. Two cores are named Monsoon and will be used for tasks requiring high power, such as gaming and video manipulation. The remaining four Mistral cores handle the lighter housekeeping – texting and checking email, for instance. The A10 Fusion used on the 2016 Apple iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus carries four cores, two for high performance and two for high efficiency. The A10X used on the refreshed version of the iPad Pro comes with three high powered Hurricane cores, and three high efficiency Zephyr cores.
Just to clarify on the A11: it's two high-power Monsoon cores and four low-power Mistral cores, all independently addressable. No Fusion
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) September 10, 2017
Another curious detail is that the Apple A11 could be capable of running all its CPU cores independently – software could be able to access multiple cores of any kind, depending on the task at hand. And all could run simultaneously if maximum power is required. The A10 Fusion could use only its high-performance or low-power cores at any given time.
Correction: it's 4 little cores and 2 big ones, with all of them being able to run at the same time.
— Longhorn (@never_released) September 10, 2017
All of this means that the next iPhone models would be more powerful than before thanks to the additional processing muscle. At the same time, the extra power-efficient cores and the ability to access any core independently bodes well for energy saving and battery life.
Apple is expected to announce the next range of iPhones at an official event set for August 12. The announcement will be livestreamed by Apple and covered in depth right here on our pages. Until then, here's what you need to read to catch up on what's coming.
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