Apple's iPad Air 2 chip paves the way for new devices

The A8X, an ARM architecture chip built by AppleApple, has enough horsepower for the company to bring 4K screens, better cameras and advanced sensors to its tablets, industry observers said. The 64-bit chip was specially designed for the new tablet and is not simply an adaptation of its cousin, the A8, which is in the iPhoneiPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Alles zu Apple auf CIO.de Alles zu iPhone auf CIO.de

Apple doesn't share information about future devices, but there have been rumors about a larger iPadiPad and an Apple TV set-top box. The company is also chasing opportunities in the automotive and health markets. Alles zu iPad auf CIO.de

"As long as they can be competitive with their silicon development, I see no limit to where they can put their chips," said Jim McGregor [CQ], principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Apple has made chips for iPhones, iPads and the Apple TV set-top box, but has relied on Intel for chips in Mac computers. Apple combines homegrown chips with software to ensure that mobile devices deliver the best performance and battery life.

The A8X is a monster chip for a tablet -- it has 3 billion [B] transistors, compared to 2 billion [B] in the A8, and more than two times the 1.3 billion [B] transistors in Intel's latest Core M chip for tablets and hybrids. Transistors are the fundamental building blocks for any electronic system, and the more you have, the more you can do with one chip. With more transistors, it's possible to add larger, higher-resolution screens and better cameras to tablets, which is what Apple aimed for the A8X chip.