Despite the similar features, the processor used on Apple’s iPad 2 A5 and presumably also will be mounted on the upcoming iPhone, is larger than its alter ego Nvidia Tegra 2, and even more powerful. According to analysts, the trend for the coming years will be to achieve chip bigger and faster
A5 The chip has a size of 122 mm square, 49mm square against the Tegra 2. This difference raises a lot of curiosity so high because the two processors are very similar: it is dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, GPU, high-end HD video and high-end audio and images.
One difference is that the processor Apple uses the 45-nanometer process, while the 40-nanometer processor Nvidia: the latter is more powerful but also smaller than the first. But as analysts note, the main difference is that the A5 processor uses the PowerVR GPU Power SGX543 dual-core, while the second calls its Nvidia GeForce GPU. The first provides a significant increase in graphics quality, better than the Nvidia chip.
For analysts, the motivation is clear: Nvidia has made a great chip for a mobile operating system, a little ‘less for playing games, but all designed primarily to maintain low production costs.