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Today, there are many processors available in the market. QUALCOMM, Apple mobile processors,
Intel mobile processors and some other giants are ruling the market. Let us discuss these mobile
processors.
8.16.1 Qualcomm Snapdragon

Qualcomm Technologies is a US-based company. Qualcomm
first became a known brand when they introduced the CDMA
technology. Qualcomm is actively involved in technology related
to semiconductor designing for mobile devices, tracking devices,
satellite phones, virtual reality, wireless charging, communications,
etc. Qualcomm is now known for its Snapdragon brand which is
responsible for marketing mobile processors and LTE modems
(4G).

Snapdragon became a big name in the processors market after it introduced the first 1 GHz
processor when the average speed of most smartphones was only 512 MHz.

Since 2005, Snapdragon has come out with a number ofseries—S1, S2, S3, S4, S200, S400, S600,
and S800. S800 series has already released S800, S801, S805, S808, S810, S820 and S821. The most
common Qualcomm processor in the medium-to high-end phone market is either S820 or S821,
which is the latest version.

8.16.2 Apple Mobile Processors

Apple does not manufacture microprocessors. Instead, it enters
into contracts with processor-manufacturing companies,
mainly Samsung and TSMC, for making custom-built processors
that suit its design and performance expectations. For instance,
A9 14nm processor was built by Samsung, while the A9 16nm
version was built by TSMC.

Apple A series is designed for processors to be used in iPhone,
iPad, iPad Touch and Apple TV.
Some of the processors in the series are A4, A5, A5X, A6, A6X, A7, A8, A8X, A9, A9X and A10.

• Apple A10 Fusion is the latest processor which is used in iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. A10 is
a quad core built on 16 nm FinFET processor capable of running at 2.4GHz speed and a hexa
core PowerVR GPU. A10 is twice as fast as its predecessor A9 and improves graphic processing
by 50%. This processor is manufactured by TSMC.
Computer Science with Python–XII 8.38 • Apple W series is used in headphones for wireless audio connectivity. The current series,
• Apple S series is designed for processors to be used in Apple Watch. Some of the processors in
the series are Apple S1, Apple S1P and Apple S2.
The current version, Apple S2, is a dual core processor with built-in GPS used in Apple Watch
Series 2. The processor is manufactured by Samsung under a contract with Apple.

Apple W1, is used in wireless headphones and AirPods.
• Apple T series is designed to be used in TouchID sensors in MacBook Pro. The only version
released till date is Apple T1.