Could Apple's A6 be a 'big-little' processor?

Peter Clarke, EETimes
(9/21/2012 8:21 AM EDT)

LONDON – There has been speculation as to whether the Apple A6 processor contains a dual-core Cortex-A15 licensed from ARM or a custom dual-core developed by Apple under an ARM architectural license.

In these days of processor optimization packages (POPs) the lines are becoming blurred. Even if a company had taken an architectural license it might make sense to take a proven design as a starting point and then deviate from it for design purposes. There may also a lot more advantage to be achieved by innovating at a higher, or indeed lower, level of abstraction.

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