The ARM Cortex A15 is a multicore capable processor and represents the highest-performance licensable processor in the industry. It delivers unprecedented processing capability, combining low power consumption for a range of market products that include smartphones, tablets, mobile computing, even high-end servers and wireless infrastructure.
The Apple A5 would package a multicore cluster processor that supports hardware virtualization, advanced single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD), a large physical address extensions and advanced security technology.
Hardware virtualization will allow the new A5 to operate in multiple software environments that are uniquely isolated from each other, like iOS and x86 instructions. Unlike the existing i5 and i7 processors in the Macbook Pros, the A5 will be capable of handling error correcting ECC Ram and handle up to 4MB of L2 cache. This is important in delivering highly speed and reliability in the server environment. It's multi-media processing engine is robust, with support for 64-bit and 128-bit registers for rich SIMD operations. Enough to delivery multiple HD video streams and bandwidth intensive encoding/decoding.
The A5 multicore technology enables high performance scalability while providing power consumption that fits with todays mobile devices. Each core can be shut down individually during low power usage and be fully activated to share the load during high demand. In the Server environment, multiple A5 chips can be packaged together to deliver even more impressive performance.
With Arm's Cortex-A15 System-on-Chip (SoC) technology, there is no need for Southbridge controllers to handle graphics and peripheral devices integration, saving considerable power and complexity. The addition of Mali graphic hardware gives the A5 full 1080p performance, with 4x-16x anti-aliasing, configurable L2 cache and up to 4 cores.
Expect to see this launched by Apple in the next year.
