AppleInsider Staff
Extrapolating from Chipworks' Wednesday report on Apple's custom A5 chip, it can be guessed that the iPhone maker is testing out Samsung's 32nm HK+MG process to flesh out any bugs before fully transferring to the technology, according to AnandTech.
Apple will be moving from the 45nm LP CMOS process used in both the iPhone 4S and last year's iPad 2 to a newer, more efficient 32nm node. In order to make the leap, testing is usually done with non-complex, small nodes like those found in the new Apple TV.
Because the number of Apple TVs sold is much less either the iPhone or the iPad, it is an ideal platform on which to test small-run batches using the 32nm process. If problems occur, the new chips can always be swapped out for current iterations built on the 45nm process.
Source: AnandTech
Future Apple products using the new Samsung node should be more efficient, meaning that complex processes can be executed without sacrificing battery life. It remains to be seen whether the next-generation iPhone will sport a processor based on the A5 architecture or if it will feature a design complex enough to denote the A6 moniker. For example, the design of the silicon in the new iPad, an A5X chip which is basically a 45nm A5 processor augmented with four graphics cores, was apparently not significant enough to warrant a name change.
Wesley Hilliard
Charles Martin
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
25 Comments
This probably explains all of the interest from Apple when I returned my brand new ATV that I picked up when I got the new iPad (both were released the same day). The ATV worked fine for a couple of days and then developed a series of white flashes the got progressively worse. After trying everything that I knew to try, I phoned Apple Technical support and they confirmed that I had done everything I could and authorized a replacement back at the Apple store.
Well, it wasn't long after replacing the unit that I received a series of emails from Apple Technical Support requesting lots of information on what happened. This was followed up with a series of phone calls from another Apple tech group. As I had taken photos of the screen and had provided very detailed information on all models and s/n from all of my connected electronics (TV, stereo, etc.) they seemed quite happy.
I don't think I've ever had this much attention for a returned product before. The new ATV is working perfectly!
This probably explains all of the interest from Apple when I returned my brand new ATV that I picked up when I got the new iPad (both were released the same day). The ATV worked fine for a couple of days and then developed a series of white flashes the got progressively worse. After trying everything that I knew to try, I phoned Apple Technical support and they confirmed that I had done everything I could and authorized a replacement back at the Apple store.
Well, it wasn't long after replacing the unit that I received a series of emails from Apple Technical Support requesting lots of information on what happened. This was followed up with a series of phone calls from another Apple tech group. As I had taken photos of the screen and had provided very detailed information on all models and s/n from all of my connected electronics (TV, stereo, etc.) they seemed quite happy.
I don't think I've ever had this much attention for a returned product before. The new ATV is working perfectly!
This is one of the greatest stories I have heard of real-world customer service. They helped verify the issue, offered a no-hassle option for return/exchange, and then followed up in detail to try and make sure that you were satisfied and that this issue wasn't happening again, plus doing their research for any future problems. Great stuff, and probably the main reason that I will never leave Apple as long as their customer support is the way it is.
I expect we will see this smaller process appear in the new iPhone. Think similar performance to the A5X but renewed focus on power efficiency and an ?A6? moniker to reinforce that it?s state of the art.
They are likely to move to 4G which will require power savings from other areas. The piece on extending the height of the display without affecting the width is very compelling. While I prefer the display ratio on the existing iPad and iPhone to that of most widescreen displays it does allow for a larger battery without fundamentally changing how the device feels in your hand.
I would like to see the iPhone available in as many colours as the iPod nano, but if I was Tim Cook I would save that for a lean update year. It?s going to increase the complexity of the supply chain but that might be offset by increased sales.
That's what I thought, they're testing out 32nm in smaller batches before the big ramp up for the next iPhone. That also fits in with the rumour of the power enhanced A5X variant for the next iphone, although I'm not sure with a screen that small it needs that extra GPU power. I'd rather keep the 543MP2 graphics cores and have them speed up the CPU cores instead.
Exactly what Soli suggested ...