AppleInsider Staff
A Tuesday report from Taiwan reiterated previous assertions that Apple would employ a new system-in-package design for the components in its so-called "iWatch," with production said to have begun on the device in time for a launch in the second half of this year.
Apple is believed to have tested system-in-package, or SIP, designs in its WiFi and fingerprint recognition modules before electing to go all-in with the technology, according to the China Times. Taiwanese semiconductor firms Kinsus Interconnect Technology, Nan Ya PCB, and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering are said to have won orders from Apple for component production.
In broad terms, SIP designs integrate many discrete chips into a single package. Unlike SOC designs — such as Apple's A-series — the individual pieces of a SIP component can be sourced from different fabs and even be created using different semiconductor technologies. This also allows for the integration of "embedded passives," like RF components, which generally cannot be added to an SOC. The report was first highlighted on Tuesday by G for Games.
By placing components closer together and significantly reducing or eliminating their individual packages, SIP designs can be much smaller and lighter than if designers placed the same components individually on a PCB. They also offer power advantages over non-integrated designs, and can be quicker — though more expensive — to manufacture than SOCs.
The report matches up with predictions revealed earlier this month by well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities. At the time, Kuo said that the iWatch would bring "massive adoption of SIP packaging technology to make the gadget slimmer and lighter."
Rumors of an Apple-branded wearable have circulated for years, picking up significant momentum in 2013. Apple is said to have tasked hundreds of employees with bringing such a product to market, and the company has snapped up industry experts in fashion, wearable devices, and fitness throughout the last 18 months.
The iWatch, if it does see a public release, is thought to carry a wide array of biometric sensors and feature a strong focus on health tracking. Many believe it will function as a stand-alone product, rather than be dependent on a more powerful device as Samsung has done with its Galaxy Gear.
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Charles Martin
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46 Comments
Smaller is right up Apple's street and more expensive (within reason) isn't likely a barrier for Apple's premium product range and economies of scale. They already use a more advanced, smaller logic board in the iPhone it would be great to see reduced even more. Example: iPhone 5S v Moto X with its complete lack of space optimization in order to save money. [INDENT][IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/42482/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/42484/width/350/height/700[/IMG] [/INDENT]
SIP is the new IGZO, then.
Something tells me Big Bob Mansfield had a role to play in bringing this technology forward. Special Project, indeed!
Apple is waiting to go all-offese as soon as it knows that its future innovations are going to be protected catching entire industry by surprise. A lesson it learned hard way from iphone/ipad is that simply protecting patents won't protect it from Samsung and Google's copycat business model. Timing of WWDC can't be any better than this. In next few days Jury is going to beat the sh** out of Samsung by punishing it with a fine close to $2 billion and send a notice to tech industry about consequences of copying lead innovators. Apple WILL THEN release a truckload of new products while all this is fresh in everyone's memory and go all offense. Apple probably had a few products ready as early as last year but it did not want to rush to the market without knowing how patent infringement by Samsung/Google was going to be taken care of. It will NOW do so....Tim Cook is real smart guy and Apple has been playing Rope-A-Dope with Samsung/Google all along. Apple has taken many hits to wear out these copycats now and it's time Apple will prounce back and finish them off.....oh wait wasn't that Steve Jobs directive to Apple!
It occurred to me the other day, given the design skills at Apple and love of solid, quality products, there is a high end market out there with the likes of Rolex making that equivalent product, only 100 years or more earlier in design. While Apple may well make a consumer product line I wondered if they may not be tempted to have a go at the very high end also.