The Apple Silicon Saga

Series
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Series A
A4
📱📲🎵📺
A5
📱📲🎵
A6
📱
A7
📱📲
A8
📱🔊
A9
📱📲
A10
📱📲📺
A11
📱
A12
📱📲🎵📺
A13
📱
A14
📱📲
A15
📱📲
A16
📱
A17
📱
A18
📱
A19 / A19 Pro
📱
Series S
S1
⌚
S2
⌚
S3
⌚
S4
⌚
S5
⌚🔊
S6
⌚
S7
⌚🔊
S8
⌚
S9
⌚
S9
⌚
S10
⌚
Series W
W1
🎧🎵
W2
⌚
W3
🎧⌚
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
W3
🎧
Series U
U1
📱⌚🏷️🔊
U1
📱⌚🏷️🔊
U1
📱⌚🏷️🔊
U1
📱⌚🏷️🔊
U2
📱⌚🏷️
U2
📱⌚🏷️
U2
📱⌚🏷️
Series H
H1
🎧
H1
🎧
H1
🎧
H2
🎧
H2
🎧
H2
🎧
H3
🎧
Series M
M1
💻📲
M1
💻📲
M2
💻📲🥽
M3
💻
M3
💻
M3 Ultra / M4
💻📲
Series N
N1
📱
Series R
R1
🥽
R1
🥽
Series C
C1 / C1X
📱
A4 2010
📱📲🎵📺
45nm Samsung • 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 • PowerVR SGX535 GPU
iPhone 4, iPad 1, iPod Touch 4, Apple TV 2
A5 2011
📱📲🎵
45nm → 32nm Samsung • Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9
iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPod Touch 5
A6 2012
📱
32nm Samsung • First custom Apple CPU design
iPhone 5
A7 2013
📱📲
28nm Samsung • First 64-bit mobile processor
iPhone 5S, iPad Air
A8 2014
📱🔊
20nm TSMC • 1.4 GHz dual-core
iPhone 6/6 Plus, HomePod
A9 2015
📱📲
16nm TSMC/14nm Samsung • 1.85 GHz dual-core
iPhone 6S/6S Plus, iPad 5
A10 Fusion 2016
📱📲📺
16nm TSMC • 2+2 big.LITTLE design
iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPad 6, Apple TV 4K
A11 Bionic 2017
📱
10nm TSMC • First with Neural Engine
iPhone 8/8 Plus/X
A12 Bionic 2018
📱📲🎵📺
7nm TSMC • 8-core Neural Engine
iPhone XS/XR, iPad Air 3, Apple TV 4K Gen 2
A13 Bionic 2019
📱
7nm+ TSMC EUV • 8-core Neural Engine
iPhone 11 series
A14 Bionic 2020
📱📲
5nm TSMC • 16-core Neural Engine
iPhone 12 series, iPad Air 4
A15 Bionic 2021
📱📲
5nm TSMC Enhanced • 5-core GPU (Pro models)
iPhone 13 series, iPad Mini 6
A16 Bionic 2022
📱
4nm TSMC • 16-core Neural Engine
iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max
A17 Pro 2023
📱
3nm TSMC • 6-core GPU with Ray Tracing
iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max
A18 2024
📱
3nm TSMC Enhanced • 17-core Neural Engine
iPhone 16 series
A19 2025
📱
2nm TSMC (rumored) • Enhanced AI capabilities
iPhone 17 series
M1 2020
💻📲
5nm TSMC • 8-core CPU (4P+4E) • 7/8-core GPU
MacBook Air/Pro, Mac mini, iMac, iPad Pro
M1 Pro/Max/Ultra 2021
💻📲
Pro: 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU
Max: 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU
Ultra: 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU
M2 2022
💻📲🥽
5nm TSMC Enhanced • 8-core CPU • 10-core GPU
MacBook Air/Pro, Mac mini, iPad Pro, Vision Pro
M3 2023
💻
3nm TSMC • Dynamic Caching • Hardware Ray Tracing
MacBook Pro, iMac
M3 Pro/Max 2024
💻
Pro: 12-core CPU • Max: 16-core CPU
MacBook Pro 14"/16"
M3 Ultra / M4 2025
💻📲
M3 Ultra: 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU (Mac Studio)
M4: Next-gen chip (MacBook Air refresh)
S1 2015
⌚
28nm Samsung • 520 MHz ARM Cortex-A7
Apple Watch Series 1
S9 2023
⌚
4-core Neural Engine • On-device Siri • Double Tap
Apple Watch Series 9
S10 2025
⌚
Enhanced health sensors • Improved battery
Apple Watch Series 11
H1 2019
🎧
10 audio cores • Real-time noise cancellation
AirPods Pro, AirPods Max
H2 2022
🎧
Advanced computational audio • 2x better ANC
AirPods Pro 2
H3 2025
🎧
Lossless audio support • Enhanced spatial audio
AirPods Pro 3
U1 2019
📱⌚🏷️🔊
Ultra Wideband • Spatial awareness • Precision Finding
iPhone 11+, Apple Watch, AirTag, HomePod
U2 2023
📱⌚🏷️
3x range of U1 • Lower power consumption
iPhone 15+, Apple Watch Series 9+, AirTag
W1 2016
🎧🎵
First wireless chip • Class 1 Bluetooth
AirPods 1, Beats headphones
W3 2018
🎧⌚
Hey Siri support • Lower latency
AirPods 2, Apple Watch
N1 2025
📱
First in-house wireless chip • Wi-Fi 7 • Bluetooth 6
Thread protocol • Replaces Broadcom
iPhone 17 series, iPhone Air
R1 2024
🥽
12ms photon-to-photon latency
Sensor fusion processor
Vision Pro exclusive
C1 Feb 2025
📱
First custom Apple modem • 5G sub-6GHz only
Better efficiency vs Qualcomm
iPhone 16e (SE 4)
C1X Sept 2025
📱
2x faster than C1 (sub-6GHz)
30% better efficiency than Qualcomm X75
iPhone Air exclusive

Device Legend

📱 iPhone
📲 iPad
🎵 iPod Touch
💻 Mac
📺 Apple TV
🔊 HomePod
⌚ Apple Watch
🎧 AirPods/Beats
🏷️ AirTag
🥽 Vision Pro

References (as of 2025-09-17)