This glossary lists common jargon you will frequently come across as you browse this wiki. Definitions you see below will appear in a popup when hovering on them in articles.
Hardware
- AOP
- Always-On Processor, marketed as "motion coprocessor" in early 64-bit SoCs.
- AMCC
- Apple Memory Cache Controller.
- AP
- Application Processor, the primary CPU of an Apple Silicon system-on-a-chip that most code executes on
- ARM
- The ARM instruction set used by the CPU and other coprocessors of an Apple Silicon system-on-a-chip
- armv6
- The ARM instruction set used by the CPU on early iOS devices
- armv7
- The ARM instruction set used by the CPU on early iOS devices
- arm64
- The ARM instruction set used by the CPU on current iOS devices
- baseband
- The modem chipset that provides cellular capabilities to a device
- JTAG
- An industry standard for testing hardware after manufacturing
- NAND
- "NOT-AND" logic gate, frequently used to refer to flash memory (solid-state drives)
- NOR
- "NOT-OR" logic gate, likely used to refer to the NOR flash memory used to hold boot data on early iOS devices
- NVRAM
- Non-volatile memory, used to store small amounts of data used during the boot process
- S5L
- The series of Samsung systems-on-a-chip used by iPods and early iOS devices, prior to A9
- SEP
- Secure Enclave Processor, a coprocessor on the system-on-a-chip that handles encryption requirements such Touch ID and Face ID
- SoC
- System on a chip, an integrated set of processors that provide the majority of an iOS device's core hardware functionality
Boot
- bootrom
- SecureROM
- The first significant code that runs on an iOS device
- DFU
- Device Firmware Update mode, a feature of the bootrom allowing for emergency restores when the installed firmware is invalid
- iBEC
- iBootStage2
- A stripped-down variant of iBoot, used to enter Restore Mode
- iBoot
- The bootloader on iOS devices and some later iPods, or a general name for the pre-kernel boot process
- iBSS
- iBootStage1
- A stripped-down variant of iBoot, providing some services for the restore process
- LLB
- Low Level Bootloader, a component that runs setup routines before starting iBoot
- Recovery Mode
- The mode an iOS or later iPod device boots into when the operating system fails to boot, known by its "connect to computer" graphic
- WTF
- What's The Firmware, an early variant of DFU mode
Protocols
- SWD
- Serial Wire Debug, an electrical interface that can debug processors in a device
- TSS
- Tatsu Signing Server, the server that generates cryptographically signed strings that certifies that components of the boot process are allowed to run on the device
Firmware & Boot
- APTicket
- Application Processor Ticket, a cryptographically signed string that certifies that components of the boot process are allowed to run on the device
- ASR
- Apple System Restore, the program that installs a root filesystem image to a device
- GM
- Golden Master, an outdated term for a Release Candidate software version
- IMG2
- File format used for images an early iOS or later iPod device can boot to
- IMG3
- File format used for images later 32-bit iOS devices can boot to
- IMG4
- IM4P
- File format used for images 64-bit iOS devices (including 32-bit Apple Watches) can boot to
- IPSW
- The file format that holds iOS and iPod firmware restore images
- OTA
- Over-the-air, often used to refer to OTA Updates, where an iOS device downloads and installs an update on itself without assistance from external hardware
- ramdisk
- A firmware image that contains a minimal operating system for certain tasks, named as such because it is stored temporarily in memory rather than permanently on disk
- RC
- Release Candidate, a software version that is receiving final beta testing in anticipation of its official release.
- RSR
- Rapid Security Response, a mechanism allowing Apple to release urgent security updates without issuing a full OS release
IMG3/IMG4 tags
- ECID
- Exclusive Chip Identification, the serial number of an Apple Silicon system-on-a-chip
- KBAG
- Keybag, a value in the IMG3/IMG4 formats that forms part of the decryption keys for encrypted firmware files
- SHSH
- Signed hash, a cryptographically signed string that certifies that components of the boot process are allowed to run on the device
iTunes
- AAS
- Apple Application Support, a program consisting of the base libraries used by iTunes and other Apple apps on Windows
- AMDS
- Apple Mobile Device Support, a program consisting of libraries and a driver for iOS and iPod devices, used by iTunes, Xcode, and other Apple apps on macOS and Windows
- QT
- The QuickTime media player, previously required for iTunes for audio/video playback
Security
- ASLR
- Address Space Layout Randomisation, a security technique to prevent memory from being taken over
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, a central database of security vulnerabilities reported in software
Jailbreak
- brick
- A device that is failing to boot into a working operating system
- semi-tethered
- A jailbreak that is temporarily applied until the device powers off or reboots, but can still be booted into a non-jailbroken state
- semi-untethered
- A jailbreak that is applied through an app installed on the device, leaving the device boot process unmodified
- tethered
- Often used to refer to a jailbreak that is temporarily applied until the device powers off or reboots
- untethered
- Often used to refer to a jailbreak that reapplies when the device is powered off or rebooted
Codenames
This page lists several code names of Apple features.
- Acacia
- Sleep stage tracking in Apple Watch.
- ACE
- The USB-C port controller on the Mac
- ACSN
- "Anonymous Crowd-Sourced Network", the server-side part of Find My offline finding (see also Search Party)
- Akashi
- Cellular data on Apple Watch
- Ambient
- StandBy on iPhone (iOS 17).
- Andromeda
- Always-on Display on iPhone 14 Pro[1]
- Antimony
- Atrial fibrillation detection.
- Avalanche
- Burst photo capture in iOS Camera app.
- Avocet
- Roadside Assistance.
- B389
- AirTag
- Beekman
- Apple Card Monthly Installments[2]
- Bobcat
- The internal framework "Siri Natural Language Generation" introduced in tvOS 16.4
- Bridge
- 1. "Watch" app on iOS, to pair and configure Apple Watch.
- 2. T2 coprocessor on Intel Macs.
- Broadway
- Apple Card
- Brook
- Handwashing detection (BrookServices and BrookDataCollection private frameworks since iOS 14).
- Burrito
- Bedtime (unsure of boundary with Eucalyptus)
- Chamois
- Stage Manager (window management on macOS 13 / iPadOS 16)
- Chamomile
- Mental health tracking in Health app.
- Chaperone
- MDM device supervision.
- Charon
- "Dive" app for Apple Watch Ultra[3]
- Cinematic Framing
- Center Stage.
- Cinnamon
- Apple Watch electrocardiogram.
- CKKS
- CloudKit Keychain Syncing, part of iCloud Keychain
- Companion
- In iPhone-Watch communication, "companion" is the iPhone.
- Core Routine
- Significant Locations.
- Custodian
- AppleID recovery contact.
- Digital Separation
- "Safety Check", quick review and revocation of information sharing with other people, for personal safety.[4]
- Dim-Sum
- App Clips.
- Durian
- AirTags (seen eg. in the firmware update)
- ELS
- Enhanced Logging State.
- Elton
- "Double tap" in watchOS 10.
- Ensemble
- Universal Control (macOS 12/iOS 15)
- Eucalyptus
- Sleep tracking (unsure of boundary with Burrito)
- Expanse
- SharePlay[5]
- Fuse
- "Apple Music" subscription/streaming service.
- Gizmo
- Apple Watch
- Glimmer
- Previously named Gobbler, this app created in 2017 is installed on Apple employees’ phones to improve Face ID
- Green Tea
- Chinese region customizations
- Hawkeye
- Third-party FindMy-enabled devices. [6]
- Haywire
- Lightning video adapters (eg. Lightning to HDMI)
- HDS
- Home Device Setup, initial configuration of HomePod from an iPhone.
- HH2
- "Home Hub 2", the new Home architecture in HomeKit.
- HiFive
- Chip present in Lightning cable connectors to negotiate the Lightning protocol.
- Hindsight
- Apple Home activity history.
- HME
- Hide My Email.
- HSA2
- Apple ID two-factor authentication.
- Hydra
- Multiplexing chip in iDevices since iPhone X to deal with the Lightning protocol.
- IED
- AirPods "in-ear detection".
- Jurassic
- Journal app (iOS 17.2+).
- Kali
- Wrist temperature measurement in Apple Watch.
- Lexington
- Apple Cash Family, sharing Apple Cash with family members[7]
- Lisa
- Digital Crown on the Apple Watch.
- NetworkServiceProxy
- iCloud Private Relay.
- Newton
- Apple Watch fall detection
- New Device Outreach
- Advertising of AppleCare+ purchase options on a new device.
- Madison
- Apple Card Family, sharing Apple Card with family members[8]
- Madrid
- iMessage[9]
- MAID
- Managed Apple ID.
- Mako
- AppleID accounts identified with a phone number instead of an email address: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105034
- Mandrake
- Siren on Apple Watch Ultra[10]
- Marzipan
- UIKit on macOS (Catalyst)
- Maslow
- Apple Fitness+ personal trainer tips.
- Maverick
- Update protocol from AP to Baseband chip
- Medusa
- iPad Split Screen (probably Slide Over etc. too), not to be confused with the T1 EFI device (http://www.cmizapper.com/products/medusa-3.html)
- Mesa
- TouchID on iDevices
- Munin
- Apple Maps "Look Around" feature (streetview-like)
- MuseBuddy
- Apple Vision Pro initial setup, equivalent of Setup.app on iOS.
- OBC
- Optimized Battery Charging; charging the battery to 80% and then doing smart prediction to figure out when to continue to 100%.
- Ocelot
- Apple Arcade
- Oslo
- Health data sharing with medical providers.
- Oyster
- Vision Pro "Optic ID" (iris biometric authentication)
- Pallas
- Apple's software update server (gdmf.apple.com) as of iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/audioOS 14, watchOS 6 and macOS 11
- Pasadena
- Pearl
- FaceID (face recognition biometric authentication)
- Peer Payment
- Apple Cash[11]
- Pegasus
- Picture-in-picture (iPadOS 9+).
- Periocular
- FaceID recognizing "features around the eye area" for face recognition while wearing a mask.
- Polaris
- "Improve Apple Maps" based on frequent locations.
- Prebuddy
- Temporary extra iCloud storage to help migrate data to a new device.
- Proximity Control
- Getting your iPhone close to a HomePod to control or share music. Uses UWB.
- Quadra
- ProRaw
- Rose
- U1 / Ultra Wide Band chip
- Sanddollar
- TouchID on the T1/T2 MacBook
- Savage
- Face ID
- Scandium
- Apple Watch blood oxygen saturation measurement
- Scribe
- Health data access in Siri.
- Search Party
- Find My network (SP prefix in frameworks etc)
- Seymour
- Apple Fitness+
- SiWA
- Sign-in With Apple[12]
- Skywagon
- Xcode Cloud
- SOS
- Secure Object Sync, part of iCloud Keychain
- Splat
- Rapid Security Response updates
- Staccato
- Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro.
- Stark
- CarPlay
- Stewie
- Emergency services over satellite (iOS 17)
- Sting
- Action Button on Apple Watch Ultra[13][14]
- Stockholm
- Apple Pay / Secure Element (handles NFC as well)
- Sydro
- Car crash detection.
- Thumper
- Wi-Fi calling; particularly, the ability to use Wi-Fi calling on non-cellular devices, sharing the phone number with an iPhone.
- Tincan
- Walkie-Talkie
- Tinker
- Apple Watch Family Setup
- Tristar
- Multiplexing chip in iDevices that deals with the Lightning protocol.
- Tritium
- Apple Watch always-on screen (series 5 and later)
- UARP
- Universal Accessory Restore Protocol[15]
- User Representation
- Synthesized 3D avatar of the user's face, used during video calls in Vision Pro. Marketed as "Persona".
- Vinyl
- The eSIM or eUICC
- VoiceBanking
- Personal Voice.
- Walrus
- Advanced Data Protection: end-to-end encryption of almost all iCloud data.
- WHA
- Whole-Home Audio, marketed as "AirPlay 2".
- Wolf
- visionOS (formerly xrOS).
- Wombat
- Continuity Camera.
- Wormhole
- AirDrop[16]
- Yonkers
- Face ID (A12+)
- Zeus
- Hermès variants of products (like Apple Watch and AirTag)
Unknown names
Codenames seen somewhere, but for which we don't know the meaning or it's not certain, and needs more investigation.
- Absinthe
- FairPlay-related
- Avocado
- Seen in SpringBoard code
os_feature_enabled_impl("SpringBoard", "Avocado"), related to battery widget - Engram
- A "keychain view" (whatever that is), related to iCloud Keychain; there's also a related Engram private framework
- Futhark
- Private framework since iOS 9 (text detection?)
- Madia
- Unknown
- Manatee
- A "keychain view" (whatever that is), related to iCloud Keychain
- Mescal
- FairPlay-related
- Morphun
- Private framework, there's also a MorphunData asset in mesu.
- Neutrino
- Private frameworks since iOS 11 (NeutrinoCore and NeutrinoKit).
- Nitrogen
- Unknown
- Octagon
- Related to iCloud Keychain
- Orion
- MCU of some kind
- Oslo
- Related to NFC payments; mentioned in SEP OS,
nfcd, andPrivateFrameworks/iCloudQuota*. - Osprey
- Private framework iOS 13, related to Siri, uses Absinthe
- Peppy
- Unknown
- Piggyback
- Some protocol related to Secure Object Sync / iCloud Keychain.
- Prague
- Related to NFC payments; mentioned in SEP OS,
nfcd,mobileactivationd, andPrivateFrameworks/DeviceIdentity. - Proud Lock
- Mentioned on SpringBoard code, possibly FaceID unlock?
- Silex
- Private framework since iOS 11.
- Vapor
- Seen in SpringBoard code
os_feature_enabled_impl("NotificationCenter", "Vapor") - Veridian
- Viceroy
- Seen in multiple frameworks, FaceTime-related.
- Xavier
- Private frameworks since iOS 14 (XavierCore/XavierNews).
SoCs
Starting with A6X, Apple added island/place codenames to SoCs, according to John (@nyan_satan) on the Hack Different Discord.[17]
Starting with the M1 series, Apple additionally uses a suffix to indicate the multiplier of chiplets in the design. The "Chop" variant removes some portion of the "1C" design - for instance, M1 Pro (Jade Chop) is identical to M1 Max (Jade 1C), but with 16 fewer GPU cores. This is further explained with diagrams by John Siracusa on Twitter.
| SoC | Codename | PlatformName |
|---|---|---|
| A5 (original) | — | H4P |
| A5 (Rev A) | — | H4A |
| A5X | — | H4G |
| A6 | — | H5P |
| A6X | Bali | H5G |
| A5 (single-core) | — | H4I |
| A7 | Alcatraz | H6 |
| A8 | Fiji | H7P |
| A8X | Capri | H7G |
| S1 | ? | M7 |
| A9 (Samsung) | Maui | H8P |
| A9 (TSMC) | Malta | |
| A9X | Elba | H8G |
| S1P, S2, and T1 | ? | M8 |
| A10 | Cayman | H9P |
| A10X | Myst | H9G |
| T2 | Gibraltar | H9M |
| S3 | ? | M8P |
| A11 | Skye | H10P |
| S4 and S5 | ? | M9 |
| A12 | Cyprus | H11P |
| A12X and A12Z | Aruba | H11G |
| A13 | Cebu | H12P |
| S6, S7, and S8 | Turks | M10 |
| A14 | Sicily | H13P |
| M1 | Tonga | H13G |
| A15 | Ellis | H14P |
| M1 Pro | Jade Chop | H13S |
| M1 Max | Jade 1C | H13C |
| M1 Ultra | Jade 2C | H13D |
| M2 | Staten | H14G |
| A16 | Crete | H15P |
| M2 Pro | Rhodes Chop | H14S |
| M2 Max | Rhodes 1C | H14C |
| M2 Ultra | Rhodes 2C | H14D |
| S9 | Caicos | M11? |
| A17 | Coll | H16P? |
| M3 | Ibiza | H15G? |
| M3 Pro | Lobos | H15S? |
| M3 Max (16-core) | Palma | H15C? |
| M3 Max (14-core) | H15M? |
CPU cores
Since the A6, Apple SoCs have Apple-designed CPU cores. This table lists their names.
- Swift
- A6 CPU core design
- Cyclone
- A7 CPU core design
- Typhoon
- A8 CPU core design
- Twister
- A9 CPU core design
- Hurricane
- A10 performance core design
- Zephyr
- A10 low-power efficiency core design
- Monsoon
- A11 performance core design
- Mistral
- A11 low-power efficiency core design
- Vortex
- A12 performance core design
- Tempest
- A12 low-power efficiency core design
- Lightning
- A13 performance core design
- Thunder
- A13 low-power efficiency core design
- Firestorm
- A14/M1 performance core design
- Icestorm
- A14/M1 low-power efficiency core design
- Avalanche
- A15/M2 performance core design
- Blizzard
- A15/M2 low-power efficiency core design
- Everest
- A16/A17 performance core design
- Sawtooth
- A16/A17/M3 low-power efficiency core design
- ^ https://twitter.com/SteveMoser/status/1567663672507473920
- ^ Frameworks/PassKit.framework/en.lproj/Beekman_Localizable.strings
- ^ https://twitter.com/SteveMoser/status/1567622418700673025
- ^ PrivateFrameworks/DigitalSeparationUI.framework/en.lproj/DigitalSeparationUI.strings
- ^ PrivateFrameworks/ChatKit.framework/en.lproj/ChatKit.strings
- ^ mentioned in FMIPCore, SiriFindMy and SPShared frameworks, locationd and searchpartyd daemons
- ^ Frameworks/PassKit.framework/en.lproj/PeerPaymentLexington_Localizable.strings
- ^ Frameworks/PassKit.framework/en.lproj/Madison_Localizable.strings
- ^ "Madrid" and
com.apple.madridappear in iMessage code, data files, and protocol - ^ https://twitter.com/SteveMoser/status/1567622442427846663
- ^ Frameworks/PassKit.framework/en.lproj/PeerPayment_Localizable.strings
- ^ akd daemon
- ^ https://twitter.com/SteveMoser/status/1567663727066873857
- ^ https://twitter.com/KhaosT/status/1568784164891295751
- ^ Apple patent "Techniques for firmware updates with accessories"
- ^ sharingd used to have classes like
SDWormholeConnection - ^ https://discord.com/channels/779134930265309195/779134930265309198/1005033813631569951