Cortex-A72

The Cortex-A72 processor is an efficient high-performance processor that implements the Armv8-A architecture.

Information on arm Cortex-A72.

Getting Started

The Cortex-A72 processor can be paired with the Cortex-A53 processor in a big.LITTLE configuration for mobile applications. The Cortex-A72 processor cluster has one to four cores, each with their L1 instruction and data caches, together with a single shared L2 unified cache.

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Specifications

Architecture  Armv8-A
 Multicore 1-4x Symmetrical Multiprocessing (SMP) within a single processor cluster, and multiple coherent SMP processor clusters through AMBA 5 CHI or AMBA 4 ACE technology
 ISA Support
  • AArch32 for full backward compatibility with Armv7
  • AArch64 for 64-bit support and new architectural features
  • TrustZone security technology
  • Neon advanced SIMD
  • DSP & SIMD extensions
  • VFPv4 floating point
  • Hardware virtualization support
 Debug & Trace
  • A guide on software optimization.

  • Cortex-A72 Software Optimization Guide

    For software engineers and programmers, the software optimization guide examines the performance characteristics of instructions in detail.

    Get the guide
  • Manual containing technical information.

  • Cortex-A72 Technical Reference Manual

    For system designers, system integrators and programmers who are designing a SoC, the Technical Reference Manual is the go-to resource.

    Read here
  • Architecture A 62 guide

  • Porting to Arm 64-bit

    If you are migrating from an Armv7 architecture based design to the Armv8 64-bit A64 instruction set, we provide a porting guide to help you.

    Get the guide
  • a ulink, a board, a desktop.

  • Development Tools for Cortex-A

    Arm and our partners provide specialist code generation, debug and analysis tools for software development on Cortex-A series processors, such as DS-5 Development Studio.

    Development Tools
  • A program that is running on a desktop.

  • Cortex-A Series Programmer's Guide for Armv8-A

    Common to all Cortex-A series processors, this programmer's guide is useful for assembly and C language application development for Armv8-A.

    Get the guide
  • A manual that contains information on safety.

  • Cortex-A Safety Documents Package

    For customers who needs to safety certify their end products, Arm provides a Safety Documentation Package for silicon developers and safety certified toolchain to accelerate the time to market.

Cortex-A Comparison Table (Armv7-A)

Feature Cortex-A5 Cortex-A7 Cortex-A9 Cortex-A15 Cortex-A17
Instruction set architecture and extensions Armv7-A Armv7-A
LPAE Virtualization		 Armv7-A Armv7-A
LPAE Virtualization		 Armv7-A
LPAE Virtualization
Pipeline In order In order Out of order Out of order Out of order
Superscalar No Partial Yes Yes Yes
Neon and Floating Point Unit Optional Optional Optional Optional Included
Floating Point Unit only Optional Optional Optional Optional Included
Cryptography Unit No No No No No
Physical Addressing (PA) 32-bit 40-bit 32-bit 40-bit 40-bit
Dual Core Lock-Step (DCLS) No No No No No
L1 I-Cache / D-Cache 4k-64k 8k-64k 16k-64k 32kB/32kB 32k-64k/32k
L2 Cache External L2C-310 Up to 1MB External L2C-310 512kB-4MB 256kB-8MB
L3 Cache NA NA NA NA NA
ECC / Parity   No Yes Yes L2 only
LPAE No Yes No Yes Yes
Bus Interfaces AXI ACE AXI ACE or CHI ACE
ACP Optional No Optional Optional Optional
Peripheral Port     No No Yes
Functional Safety Support          
Security TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone
Interrupt Controller Optional Integrated GIC v1 (MP only) Optional Integrated GIC v2 Internal Integrated GIC v1 (MP only) Optional Integrated GICv2 External GICv2
Generic Timer No Yes Yes Armv8-A Armv8-A

Cortex-A Comparison Table (Armv8-A)

Feature Cortex-A32 Cortex-A34 Cortex-A35 Cortex-A53 Cortex-A55 Cortex-A57 Cortex-A65 Cortex-A65AE Cortex-A72 Cortex-A73 Cortex-A75 Cortex-A76 Cortex-A76AE
Instruction set architecture and extensions Armv8-A AArch32 only Armv8-A AArch64 only Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only), Armv8.4 Dot Product Armv8-A Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only) Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only), Armv8.4 Dot Product Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only), Armv8.4 Dot Product Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only), Armv8.4 Dot Product Armv8-A, Armv8.1 extensions, Armv8.2 extensions, Cryptography extensions, RAS extensions, Armv8.3 (LDAPR instructions only), Armv8.4 Dot Product
Pipeline In order In order In order In order In order Out of order Out of order Out-of-order Out of order Out of order Out-of-order Out-of-order Out-of-order
Superscalar       Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Neon and Floating Point Unit Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Included Included Included Included Included Included Included Included
Floating Point Unit only N/A N/A N/A N/A Optional Included Included Included Included Included Included Included Included
Cryptography Unit Optional Optional Optional Optional N/A Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional
Physical Addressing (PA) 40-bit 40-bit 40-bit 40-bit 40-bit 40-bit 44-bit 44-bit 40-bit 40-bit 44-bit 40-bit 40-bit
Dual Core Lock-Step (DCLS) No No No No No No No Yes (in safety-mode) No No No No Yes (in safety-mode)
L1 I-Cache / D-Cache 8k-64k 8k-64k 8k-64k 8k-64k 16kB-64kB 48kB/32kB 16KB to 64KB 16KB to 64KB 48KB/32kB-64kB 32k/32k-64k 64KB 64KB 64KB
L2 Cache 128KB-1MB 128KB-1MB 128KB-1MB 128KB-2MB 64kB-256kB 512kB-2MB 64KB to 256KB 64KB to 256KB 512kB-4MB 256k-8MB 256KB to 512KB 256KB to 512KB 256KB to 512KB
L3 Cache NA NA NA NA Optional
From 256kB to 4MB		 NA Optional 512KB to 4MB Optional 512KB to 4MB NA NA Optional 512KB to 4MB Optional 512KB to 4MB Optional 512KB to 4MB
ECC / Parity Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes L2 only Yes Yes Yes
LPAE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bus Interfaces ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE ACE or CHI ACE or CHI ACE or CHI
ACP Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Yes Optional Optional Optional Yes Optional Optional Optional
Peripheral Port         Optional   Optional Optional     Optional Optional Optional
Functional Safety Support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes   Yes Yes   Yes Yes Yes
Security TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone TrustZone
Interrupt Controller External
GICv3		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv4		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv4		 External
GICv4		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv3		 External
GICv4		 External
GICv4		 External
GICv4
Generic Timer Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A Armv8-A

 

Get Support

Arm support

Arm training courses and on-site system-design advisory services enable licensees to efficiently integrate the Cortex-A72 processor into their design to realize maximum system performance with lowest risk and fastest time-to-market.

Arm training courses  Arm Design Reviews  Open a support case

Related IP

The Cortex-A72 processor can be incorporated into a SoC using a broad range of Arm technology including Graphics IP, System IP, and Physical IP. The Cortex-A72 processor is fully supported by Arm development tools. Related IP includes:

 

Graphic IP
 Other IP
 Tools

Arm Mali-T860 and Mali-T880 (GPU)

 

 

CoreLink Cache Coherent Interconnect Family

CoreLink System Controllers

CoreLink DMC-500 and CoreLink DMC-520

CoreSight SoC-400

Arm POP (Physical IP)

Arm Development Studio

Fixed Virtual Platforms

Arm Versatile Express

Arm Compiler 6

Arm Fast Models

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Community Forums

Not answered Enabling SWO output in Cortex M3 DesignStart FPGA Xilinx edition? 0 votes 10 views 0 replies Started 6 hours ago by jpthibault Answer this
Not answered why does LDR takes two cycle to be executed 0 votes 21 views 0 replies Started 10 hours ago by Haohao Answer this
Suggested answer ARMv8-A: Is an ISB instruction required after writing to the CPSR register in AARCH32 state?
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  • Cortex-A9
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Not answered Enabling SWO output in Cortex M3 DesignStart FPGA Xilinx edition? Started 6 hours ago by jpthibault 0 replies 10 views
Not answered why does LDR takes two cycle to be executed Started 10 hours ago by Haohao 0 replies 21 views
Suggested answer ARMv8-A: Is an ISB instruction required after writing to the CPSR register in AARCH32 state? Latest 21 hours ago by 42Bastian Schick 1 replies 66 views
Suggested answer How to Change the Non Secure VTOR (Cortex-M33) Latest yesterday by 42Bastian Schick 1 replies 92 views
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