Allwinner Technology

Allwinner Technology Co., Ltd
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Industry Fabless semiconductors
Founded 2007 (2007)
Headquarters Zhuhai, Guangdong, China
Products Integrated circuits
Website http://www.allwinnertech.com/

Allwinner Technology is a Chinese fabless semiconductor company that designs mixed-signal systems on a chip (SoC). The company is headquartered in Zhuhai, Guangdong. It has a sales and technical support office in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and logistics operations in Hong Kong.

Since its founding in 2007, Allwinner has released over fifteen SoC processors for use in Android-based tablets,[1] as well as in smartphones, over-the-air OTT boxes, video camera systems, car DVRs, and car media players.[2]

Product history

Allwinner was the No.1 supplier of application processors for Android tablets in 2012

In 2012 and 2013, Allwinner was the number one supplier in terms of unit shipments of application processors for Android tablets worldwide.[3][4][5] According to DigiTimes, in Q4 2013 Allwinner lost its number one position in terms of unit shipments to the Chinese market to Rockchip.[6][7] For Q2 2014, Allwinner was reported by DigiTimes to be the third largest supplier to the Chinese market after Rockchip and MediaTek.[8] DigiTimes has also projected that Allwinner will fall to the number four position in Q4 2014, being passed by Intel, as Allwinner's unit shipments continue to decline.[9]

Allwinner Product History

F-series processors

From 2007 to 2011, Allwinner introduced its F-series processors, including the F10, F13, F18, F20, F1E200, F1C100, and F20. This series runs Allwinner's in-house operating system Melis2.0, which is now mainly used in vehicle multimedia systems, E-ink readers, video intercom systems, and so on.

A1x family

In 2011, the company became an ARM processor licensee,[10] and subsequently announced a series of ARM Cortex-A8 powered mobile application processors, including A10, A13, A10s and A12, which were used in numerous tablets, and also in PC-on-a-stick and media center devices. They have also been adopted in free hardware projects like the Cubieboard development board.

A2x and A3x family

In December 2012, Allwinner announced the availability of two ARM Cortex-A7 MPCore powered products, the dual-core Allwinner A20 and quad-core Allwinner A31. Production of the A31 started in September 2012 and end products, mostly high-end tablets from Chinese manufacturers, appeared on the market in early 2013, including the Onda V972.[11] Allwinner was the first to make this ARM processor core available in mass production.

In March 2013, Allwinner launched its quad-core Phablet processor A31s.[12] Based on quad-core cortex-A7 CPU architecture, this processor allows 3G, 2G, LTE, WIFI, BT, FM, GPS, AGPS and NFC using a minimum of external components.

In October, 2013, Allwinner released its second dual-core A23, touted to be "The most efficient dual core processor" for tablets.[13] The A23's CPU frequency was intended to run up to 1.5 GHz.[14]

In June, 2014, Allwinner announced the A33 quad-core SoC that is pin compatible with Allwinner's A23. The new SoC features four Cortex-A7 cores with 256 KB L1 cache, 512 KB L2 cache and a Mali-400 MP2 GPU. A new feature is the support of the OpenMAX API.[15] Allwinner has positioned the A33 for entry-level tablets, targeting quad-core tablets priced from $30 to $60, and in July 2014 announced that it has started mass production of the chip, which will sell for as low as $4 per unit.[16]

A8x family

In October 2013, Allwinner disclosed its upcoming octa-core A80 SoC, featuring four high-performance ARM Cortex-A15 and four efficient ARM Cortex-A7 CPU cores in a big.LITTLE configuration.[17][18]

On June 30, 2014, Chinese brand Onda officially released its octa-core Onda V989 tablet, which is based on Allwinner A80. This is the first Allwinner A80-based tablet that is available to consumers, priced at CNY 1099 (~US$177).[19]

In September 2014, Allwinner announced the Allwinner A83T, an octa-core tablet processor that packs eight highly energy-efficient Cortex-A7 cores that can run simultaneously at up to around 2.0 GHz. It also includes a PowerVR GPU. The first tablet with the chip was expected to hit the market in Q4 2014.[20]

Allwinner Product Roadmap 20131010

V-Series

The V-Series are video encoding processor targeting applications such as smart DVR, IP camera and smart home applications. It is similar to the A series SoC, but adds support for functions such as digital watermarking, motion detection and video scaling, as well as a CBR/VBR bit rate control mode.[21]

H-Series (OTT box application)

The H-series, introduced in 2014, are integrated application processors primarily targeted at OTT set-top box applications.

Allwinner has launched the A80 octa-core OTT box solution, targeting at high-end OTT box market, and launched the Allwinner H8 octa-core processor for mid-range OTT boxes, and most recently launched the quad-core Allwinner H3 targeting the US$35 - $50 OTT box market.[22]

Android 5.0 Lollipop support

In December 2014, Allwinner released its Android 5.0 SDK for Allwinner A33 quad-core solution.[23]

Upcoming products

In July 2014, Allwinner announced that its first 64-bit tablet processor was to hit the market soon.[24]

Chipset specifications

The Allwinner SoC family includes A-series, which is intended for Android OS, and F-series, which is intended for the company's self-developed Melis operating system.

The A-Series, including the A10, A20 and A31 SoCs, have a proprietary in-house designed multimedia co-processing DSP (Digital Signal Processing) processor technology for hardware accelerated video, image, and audio decoding, called CedarX (with subprocessing called "CedarV" for video decoding and "CedarA" for audio decoding), able to decode 2160p 2D and 1080p 3D video. The main disadvantages with CedarX technology and associated libraries is that Allwinner's own CedarX proprietary libraries have no clear usage license, so even if the source code for some versions is available the terms-of-use is unknown in open source software, and there is no glue code for any other multimedia frameworks on GNU/Linux systems that could be used as a middle-ware, like for example OpenMAX or VAAPI.

A-Series

The A-series are integrated application processors primarily targeting tablets as well as targeting mini PCs, development boards and TV boxes.[2]

SoC Fab CPU GPU Video Decoder Video Encoder Package Application Examples
ISA µarch Cores L2 cache
A10 55 nm ARMv7-A Cortex-A8 1 256 KB Mali-400 @ 300 MHz[25] 2160p H.264 1080p @ 30 fps BGA441, 19 × 19 mm, 0.80 mm Pitch Tablet, smart TV
A10s BGA336, 14  × 14 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch HDMI Dongle OLinuXino A10S
A13 eLQFP176, 20 × 20 mm Tablet, E-reader
A20[26] Cortex-A7 2 256 KB[27][28] Mali-400 MP2 @ 350 MHz[25] BGA441, 19 × 19 mm, 0.80 mm Pitch Tablet, smart TV
A23 40 nm 1080p @ 60 fps multi-format H.264 1080p @ 60 fps BGA280, 14 × 14 mm, 0.80 mm Pitch Tablet Kiano SlimTab 8
A31 4 1 MB PowerVR SGX544 MP2 @ 350 MHz[25] 2160P
4K×2K 		BGA609, 18 × 18 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch Tablet, Smartphone, smart TV
A31s H.264 1080p @ 30 fps BGA460, 18 × 18 mm, 0.80 mm Pitch Phablet,Tablet, smartphone, smart TV
A33[30][31] 512 KB Mali-400 MP2 @ 350 MHz[25] 1080p @ 60 fps multi-format H.264 1080p @ 60 fps BGA282, 14 × 14 mm, 0.80 mm Pitch Tablet GoTab GT97X[32]
A80 Octa[33] 28 nm

HPM

big.LITTLE:
Cortex-A15 + Cortex-A7 		8 2 MB + 512 KB PowerVR G6230 (Rogue) @ 533 MHz[25] 4K×2K @30 fps, H.265/VP9 1080p @30 fps H.264 HP/VP8 4K×2K @30 fps FCBGA636, 19 × 19 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch Tablet, smart TV, TV box, mini PC
A83T[20][37] Cortex-A7 ? PowerVR SGX544 @ 700 MHz[25] 1080p @ 60 fps, H.264, HVEC MP/L5.2 H.264 1080p @ 60 fps FCBGA345, 14 × 14 mm Tablet InFocus CS1 A83 (C2107)[38]
A64[39] 40 nm ARMv8-A Cortex-A53 4 512 KB Mali-400 MP2 H.264/H.265 BGA396, 15 × 15 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch Tablet PINE64, PINE64+[40]

H-Series

The H-series, introduced in 2014, are primarily targeted at OTT set-top box applications.

SoC Fab CPU GPU Video Decoder Video Encoder Package Application Examples
ISA µarch Cores L2 Cache
H2 ? ARMv7-A Cortex-A7 4 ? Mali-400 MP2 @ 600 MHz 1080p @ 60 fps H.264 1080p @ 30fps ? OTT box Orange PI Zero
H3[41][42] 28 nm 4 512 KB 1080p @ 60 fps, 4K H.265 @ 30 fps FBGA347, 14 × 14 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch Zidoo X1, Tronsmart Draco H3, Orange Pi PC, NanoPi NEO
H8[43] 28 nm HPC 8 ? PowerVR SGX544 @ 700MHZ 1080p @ 60 fps, 1080p H.265/VP9 @ 30 fps H.264 1080p @ 60 fps FCBGA345, 14 × 14 mm Cubieboard 5
H64[44] ? ARMv8-A Cortex-A53 4 ? Mali-400 MP2 H.264/H.265 BGA396, 15 × 15 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch
H5 ? 512 KB Mali-450 MP4 H.264/H.265 4k@30fps VP8 1080p@60fps FBGA347, 14 × 14 mm, 0.65 mm Pitch Orange Pi PC2, NanoPi NEO2, NanoPi NEO Plus2

F-Series

SoC CPU Memory Video Decoder Video Encoder Package OS Application
F1C100 ARM9 SDR 720p N/A LQFP128 Melis 2.0 Car MP5, Car Headrest, Visual Bombox, Visual Radio
F1E200 DDR 1080p N/A eLQFP128 E-ink Reader, PMP
F10 N/A LQFP176 Multimedia Box, HD Player
F13 MPEG4 720p @ 30 fps Car MP5
F18 LQFP216 Visual Intercom System
F20 DDR/DDR2 H.264 1080p @ 30 fps BGA400 Car DVR, Multimedia Box, Mobile Karaoke

R-Series

SoC Fab CPU GPU Video Decoder Video Encoder Package Application Examples
ISA µarch Cores L2 Cache
R8[45][46] ? ARMv7-A Cortex-A8 1 ? Mali-400 MP2[47] 1080p@30fps 720p@30fps eLQFP176 IoT, Linux on the Stick, Smart Device $9 Next Thing Co.'s CHIP computer
R16[48] ? Cortex-A7 4 512 KB 1080p@60fps 1080p@60fps BGA282 IoT, Security Systems NES Classic Edition
R40[49] ? ? FBGA468 IoT, Security Systems
R58[50] ? 8 ? PowerVR SGX544 MP1 1080p@60fps or 720p@120fps FCBGA345, 14mm × 14mm Hybrid PC, Tablet, Multimedia Box, HD Player
R18 ? ARMv8-A Cortex-A53 4 512 KB Mali-400 MP2 ? ? ? ?

Allwinner processor ecosystem

Allwinner IDH List

Allwinner Technology cooperates with around ten independent design houses (IDHs) based in Shenzhen, China, who develop solutions based on Allwinner processors. They include iNet Technology, Worldchip Digital Technology, Sochip Technology, Topwise Communication, ChipHD Technology, Highcharacter Science and Technology, WITS Technology, Ococci Technology, Next Huawen Technology, and Qi Hao Digital Technology.

Apart from the white-box market, Allwinner processors can also be found in many brand products, including HP, MSI, ZTE, NOOX, GoTab, Skyworth, MeLE, Polaroid, Micromax, Archos, Texet, Ainol, Onda, Ramos, Teclast, Ployer, Readboy, Noah, RF, Bmorn, Apical, Astro Queo, etc.

Free and open-source software support

Due to the low price of the A10 SoC, the fact that it has a special rescue mode, and the early availability of U-Boot and Linux kernel source (through several device makers), the Allwinner SoCs have been popular among open-source software developers. Since at least 2012 the linux-sunxi community has been one of the most active ARM SoC communities, and the slightly older hardware has only very minimal dependence on firmware or blobs.[51][52]

Since 2014 Allwinner is also an official member of the Linaro group, a nonprofit engineering consortium aimed at developing open-source software for the ARM architecture.[53] However, it has been noted that most of the contributions that Allwinner has made to the Linaro group has been in the form of binary blobs, which is in clear violation of the GNU GPL license that the Linux kernel uses.[54]

Linux controversies

GPL controversy

Allwinner has been accused multiple times[55] of violating the GPL license by not providing Linux/Android kernel source code or U-Boot source, and by using LGPL-licensed code within their binary blobs, etc.[56]

Backdoor controversy

Allwinner has also been accused of including a backdoor in its published version of the Linux kernel.[57][58] The backdoor allows any installed app to have full root access to the system. While this may be a remnant of debugging during the development process, it presents a significant security risk to all devices using the Allwinner provided kernel.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lin, Eric. "Digitimes Research: China tablet SoC developers enjoy robust shipment growth in 2012". DigiTimes. DigiTimes Research. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Allwinner Technology Home Page". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  3. ↑ "Digitimes Research: Tablet AP shipments to China to rise 53% in 3Q13". Digitimes. Retrieved Sep 23, 2013.
  4. ↑ "London Calling: Did Allwinner outsell Intel, Qualcomm?". eetimes. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Qualcomm, Intel Threatened as Allwinner Nabs Tablet Share". Bloomberg. 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  6. ↑ "Digitimes Research: China tablet-use application processor shipments continue growing in 4Q13". DigiTimes. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  7. ↑ "Digitimes Research: Tablet application processor shipments in China slip 2.7% in 1Q14". DigiTimes. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  8. ↑ "Digitimes Research: China sees increased tablet AP shipments in 2Q14". DigiTimes. 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  9. ↑ "Digitimes Research: Tablet AP shipments in China to rise 4.7% in 4Q14". DigiTimes. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
  10. ↑ ARM processor licensee on ARM.com
  11. ↑ Onda V972 tablet features an Allwinner quad-core CPU, Retina-style display on Liliputing.com
  12. ↑ Allwinner launches quad-core CPU A31s for phablets on Liliputing.com
  13. ↑ "A New Weapon in the Tablet Wars: Allwinner Announces the Ultra-Efficient Dual Core A23 Processor for Tablets". Allwinner. September 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  14. ↑ "Allwinner Announces Stunning Specs for New 1.5GHz Dual Core A23 Processor". Allwinner. October 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-01-16. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  15. ↑ "AllWinner A33 Quad Core SoC is Pin-to-Pin Compatible with AllWinner A23". Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Allwinner A33, World's First $4 Quad Core Tablet Processor, Now in Mass Production". Allwinner. July 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  17. ↑ "Allwinner unveils Allwinner A80 Octa processor". Liliputing. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  18. ↑ "A80 Octa core BigLittle SoC from Allwinner will be ready in 2014". olimex. Retrieved Oct 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Onda V989 AllWinner A80 Android Tablet is Now Available for Pre-order".
  20. 1 2 "Allwinner's A83T: a Heavyweight Octa-Core for Full HD Tablets". PR Newswire. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  21. ↑ cnxsoft. "AllWinner V10 and V15 SoCs Target Video Recording Applications". cnx-software. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Allwinner H3 is a Quad Core SoC for Sub $50 4K H.265 Media Players". Allwinner. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  23. ↑ "Allwinner has released its Android 5.0 SDK for Allwinner A33 quad-core solution". Allwinner. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  24. ↑ "Allwinner's first 64-bit tablet processor to hit the market soon". Allwinner. July 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gpu gflops". GPU GFLOPS. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  26. ↑ "Allwinner throws A20 dual-core and A31-quad-core processors into ARM fray". Engadget. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  27. ↑ "A20 - linux-sunxi.org". linux-sunxi community. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  28. ↑ "A20 User Manual Revision 1.3" (PDF). linux-sunxi community. Allwinner. 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  29. ↑ "HP 8 1401 Tablet Product Specifications". HP Consumer Support. HP. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  30. ↑ "Allwinner A33 Processor Goes Official, Cortex-A7 Quad-core And Mali-400 MP2 GPU". GSM Insider. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  31. ↑ "A33 Product brief PDF". Allwinner download center. Allwinner. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "GoTab GT97X". 2014-12-16.
  33. ↑ "A80". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2014-12-31. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  34. ↑ "Allwinner UltraOcta A80 OptimusBoard to be Unveiled at 2014 CES". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  35. ↑ Brad Linder. "Zero Devices Z8C is a TV box with an Allwinner A80 octa-core CPU". Liliputing. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  36. ↑ "Tronsmart Draco AW80 is an Allwinner A80 Android mini PC with Up to 4GB RAM". Cnx-software.com. 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  37. ↑ "Octa-core A83T". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  38. ↑ "Infocus CS1 A83 (C2107) Android Tablet Review". 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  39. ↑ "AllWinner A64 is a $5 Quad Core 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 SoC for Tablets". CNX Software. 2015-01-08. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  40. ↑ "FAQ - PINE 64". PINE 64. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  41. ↑ "Allwinner H3 Quad-Core Announced: a Full 4K OTT Box Solution". Allwinner. December 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  42. ↑ "H3". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  43. ↑ "H8". Allwinner. Archived from the original on 2015-01-02. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  44. ↑ "Allwinner H64 based Nobel64 Could the First Affordable 64-bit ARM Development Board". CNX Software. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2015-01-09.
  45. ↑ "Allwinner R8 SOC description". Allwinner R8. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  46. ↑ "NextThingCo/CHIP-Hardware" (PDF). GitHub. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  47. ↑ "Allwinner R16, R40 and R58, SoC for IoT and Hybrid". Startlr Tech. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  48. ↑ "R16 SOC description". Allwinner R16. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  49. ↑ "R40 SOC description". Allwinner R40. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  50. ↑ "R58 SOC description". Allwinner R58. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  51. ↑ Sunxi Community website
  52. ↑ FOSDEM talk about the Sunxi Community on the FOSDEM website.
  53. ↑ Announcement of Allwinner membership on Linaro news site.
  54. ↑ Allwinner GPL Violations.
  55. ↑ "GPL Violations". linux-sunxi.org. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  56. ↑ "Allwinner Caught Obfuscating Their Improperly Licensed Code". Phoronix. 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  57. ↑ Gallagher, Sean (11 May 2016). "Chinese ARM vendor left developer backdoor in kernel for Android, "Pi" devices". Ars Technica. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  58. ↑ Chirgwin, Richard (9 May 2016). "This is what a root debug backdoor in a Linux kernel looks like". The Register. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
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