AppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
The markings on the processor inside the latest photographed next-generation iPhone prototype reveal the system-on-a-chip includes the Apple A4 and 256MB of Samsung DRAM on two dies.
The information was revealed to iFixit through the marking seen on the device, which was photographed in Vietnam. The markings "APL0398 339S0084" indicate the hardware includes the A4 microprocessor, while "K4X2G643GE" reveals the 256MB of system RAM from Samsung. Both were also found in the processor inside the iPad.
"Our engineers are not surprised by this finding," the solutions provider said. "We were very impressed by the extraordinarily low power consumption of the iPad, and remarked at the time that its power consumption and board design was much more in line with handheld devices than laptop computers."
The markings mean that the prototype iPhone has the exact same processor and RAM found in the iPad, which featured custom silicon designed by Apple. Apple's A4 is packaged just like previous iPhone processors, with three layers of circuitry that include the microprocessor in one package, and two memory modules in the other.
iFixit got an extremely close look at the A4 soon after the iPad launched in April, when they, along with Chipworks, X-rayed and dismantled the chip based on the ARM architecture. Inside the iPad, the A4's low power consumption offers the device an advertised 10 hours of battery life.
Though the 1GHz processor speed is faster, the next-generation iPhone prototype has the same amount of RAM found in last year's iPhone 3GS. Last year's model had a 600MHz processor, while the iPhone 3G had a 400MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.
The 1GHz clock speed of the iPad processor is largely credited to Intrinsity. The Austin, Tex., firm has developed a suite of design tools called "Fast14" that can accelerate clock speeds greater than is possible with static designs. Apple's purchase of Intrinsity was confirmed in late April.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
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Reply 1 of 86
yesicanPosts: 46member
May 12, 2010 2:59PM
I wonder if Steve Jobs will even make a keynote at this point. It will all be much ado about everything we already know thanks to AI.
Maybe he'll delegate it to Schiller.
Reply 2 of 86
mstonePosts: 11,510member
May 12, 2010 3:06PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
The markings mean that the iPad has the exact same processor and RAM found in the iPad, which featured custom silicon designed by Apple. Apple's A4 is packaged just like previous iPhone processors, with three layers of circuitry that include the microprocessor in one package, and two memory modules in the other.
Wow what a surprise
Reply 3 of 86
akf2000Posts: 223member
May 12, 2010 3:13PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone
Wow what a surprise
oh you beat me to it.
Reply 4 of 86
nprtmn4evrPosts: 35member
May 12, 2010 3:16PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
See AlsoWizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord PS5 review - ground zero for RPGsBest Buy Memorial Day sale 2024: 35 deals I recommendDead Space-Remake: Trailer, Erscheinungsdatum und alles, was Sie wissen müssenDaily Deals: Resident Evil 4, 48" UltraGear 4K Monitor, Nintendo Switch - IGNThe markings mean that the iPad has the exact same processor and RAM found in the iPad,
Well, I'll be! Mystery solved!
Edit:
Too slow!
Reply 5 of 86
danielswPosts: 906member
May 12, 2010 3:20PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by yesiCan
I wonder if Steve Jobs will even make a keynote at this point. It will all be much ado about everything we already know thanks to AI.
Maybe he'll delegate it to Schiller.
As if any phone is merely its parts. Get real. There's still plenty for Steve to demonstrate and brag about.
Reply 6 of 86
anonymous guyPosts: 90member
May 12, 2010 3:30PM
256MB again?
Resource management better be good or else it's gonna hamstring the phone.
Reply 7 of 86
foo2Posts: 1,077member
May 12, 2010 3:32PM
oh, no! More Apple hardware fragmentation... not.
Android makers had better grunt out another half dozen models to compete with this.
Reply 8 of 86
johnrsPosts: 1member
May 12, 2010 3:33PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
The markings mean that the prototype iPad has the exact same processor and RAM found in the iPad
Did not see that one coming.
Reply 9 of 86
shubiduaPosts: 157member
May 12, 2010 3:35PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielSW
As if any phone is merely its parts. Get real. There's still plenty for Steve to demonstrate and brag about.
Yup, like how the thing will actually works, the new iChat features, higher res screen (though we have little info on that), the overall speed-up compared to the 3GS, camera at the back, the flash, and who knows what else they have got up their sleeves.
Reply 10 of 86
foo2Posts: 1,077member
May 12, 2010 3:35PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by yesiCan
I wonder if Steve Jobs will even make a keynote at this point. It will all be much ado about everything we already know thanks to AI.
Hardly. Both prototypes have been dead or nonfunctional, not exactly showcasing what the devices can do. Apple is likely to reveal new features for iPhone OS 4.0, as well, some of which might only be available on the new hardware.
Reply 11 of 86
macdawg75Posts: 10member
May 12, 2010 3:35PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous guy
256MB again?
Resource management better be good or else it's gonna hamstring the phone.
Suspect you don't have an iPad...don't get lost in the pseudo feature set race.
Reply 12 of 86
yulelog035Posts: 3member
May 12, 2010 3:36PM
Anyone find an RFID tag in there?
Reply 13 of 86
predragPosts: 26member
May 12, 2010 3:44PM
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple now put together a decoy that looks just a little bit different and planted it through one of the fan sites. At this point, everyone is talking about this HD iPhone and most stories are rather consistent. It would provide enough of a confusion to re-start the rumour mill until the actual announcement.
Reply 14 of 86
solipsismPosts: 25,726member
May 12, 2010 3:51PM
Really, People, sarcastic remarks about the internals? We all suspected but this is confirmation. That shouldn't be issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anonymous guy
256MB again?
Resource management better be good or else it's gonna hamstring the phone.
For the current iPhone 256MB is enough for backgrounding. For the iPad, I show very little extra RAM, which is sore spot for my needs. Based on the rumoured display resolution the iPhone HD should be between the 3GS and iPad in RAM usage. More would be better but I think this iPhone will have sufficient RAM. It was also quite expected with the iPad only having 256MB.
Reply 15 of 86
str1f3Posts: 573member
May 12, 2010 4:08PM
I'm sure it will be more than sufficient for multitasking but more RAM is always for the better. It will be interesting to see how the 4G will compare to the Nexus One, and other newer Android handsets with 512 RAM, since hearing whispers that 2.2 has dramatically increased speeds.
Reply 16 of 86
aurchonPosts: 18member
May 12, 2010 4:17PM
These rumors are so iffy. The latest updates to the Touch included a "basic" model and then two superior models for more money (including better graphics and storage).
Apple also has been getting in the habit of releasing product in a newer design but keeping the old specs the same with a few tweaks, (look at the Macbook).
I believe that this is just (speculation) a remake of the 3GS in the newer form. This way they can continue to offer a "basic" model like the Touch and then have more "superior" models to those that whine about everything. Why manufacture the older model and keep it in production when you have a newer form design and a new processor (A4) for all models. Transfer it all to one uniform design and keep one "basic".
I am looking forward to the official release of the new iPhone in less than a month away. Rumors like this spoil some of the fun I think.
Reply 17 of 86
dhkostaPosts: 150member
May 12, 2010 4:46PM
Forgive my ignorance, but two dies is a change from the 3gs, no?
With how utterly packed the chip is, I doubt Apple would sacrifice that much real estate for financial reasons. My first reaction is that this may indicate a more efficient way to address the ram, which makes me optimistic about a bump in efficiency, even without an increase in actual space.
Anyone care to corroborate or debunk this idea?
Reply 18 of 86
solipsismPosts: 25,726member
May 12, 2010 4:48PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by str1f3
I'm sure it will be more than sufficient for multitasking but more RAM is always for the better. It will be interesting to see how the 4G will compare to the Nexus One, and other newer Android handsets with 512 RAM, since hearing whispers that 2.2 has dramatically increased speeds.
Should be damn good. The Nexus One with v2.1 was compared to the 600MHz 3GS and it still trounced it many areas because of the more efficient codebase and better tying to the HW. I'm sure Android will get better at this but Apple will have a much easier time of this than all the vendors using Android.
Reply 19 of 86
mazda 3sPosts: 1,613member
May 12, 2010 4:49PM
If the iPhone 4G does indeed have a 960x640 display, it's going to have the same Safari refreshing problems as the iPad. The iPhone 3GS can have 6+ tabs open in Safari with no page refreshing -- try two or pages with the iPad and the damn thing will refresh like crazy going from page to page.
iPhone 3GS -- 480x320, 256MB
iPhone 4G -- 960x640, 256MB
iPad -- 1024x768, 256MB
There are just two many pixels to deal with for 256MB to be enough for the iPad and the iPhone 4G in Safari. 512MB would probably be the sweet spot.
Reply 20 of 86
mike11Posts: 23member
May 12, 2010 4:56PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by DHKOsta
Forgive my ignorance, but two dies is a change from the 3gs, no?
With how utterly packed the chip is, I doubt Apple would sacrifice that much real estate for financial reasons. My first reaction is that this may indicate a more efficient way to address the ram, which makes me optimistic about a bump in efficiency, even without an increase in actual space.
Anyone care to corroborate or debunk this idea?
It's only one chip! Like the article says:
Quote:
Apple's A4 is packaged just like previous iPhone processors, with three layers of circuitry that include the microprocessor in one package, and two memory modules in the other.
These three layers are stacked on top of each other (SoC cores + 128MB RAM + 128MB RAM). Absolutely nothing unusual about it, that's how most modern SoCs are built. But the memory bandwidth doubled either way, because of the A4's new 64-bit memory bus (most likely to help with the 4-5 times number of pixels in the iPad and iPhone HD).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mazda 3s
If the iPhone 4G does indeed have a 960x640 display, it's going to have the same Safari refreshing problems as the iPad. The iPhone 3GS can have 6+ tabs open in Safari with no page refreshing -- try two or pages with the iPad and the damn thing will refresh like crazy going from page to page.
iPhone 3GS -- 480x320, 256MB
iPhone 4G -- 960x640, 256MB
iPad -- 1024x768, 256MB
There are just two many pixels to deal with for 256MB to be enough for the iPad and the iPhone 4G in Safari. 512MB would probably be the sweet spot.
True, but Safari's tabs seem to be the only RAM problem that directly affects the user. IMHO a clever caching mechanism could really help here.
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