Apple A9

The Apple A9 is a 64-bit ARM-based system-on-chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series. Manufactured for Apple by both TSMC and Samsung, it first appeared in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus which were introduced on September 9, 2015. Apple states that it has 70% more CPU performance and 90% more graphics performance compared to its predecessor, the Apple A8. Production of A9 chips ended when the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and first-generation iPhone SE was discontinued on September 12, 2018. The latest software update for the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and first generation SE is iOS 15.8.8, released on May 11, 2026 (2026-05-11), as they were discontinued with the release of iOS 16 in 2022, and for the iPad (5th generation) using this chip was iPadOS 16.7.16, released on the same date, as it was discontinued with the release of iPadOS 17 in 2023.