Tag Archives: a5x

Anandtech: Apple iPhone 5 features 1GB of RAM, A6 is a custom SoC

Posted on by

Unsurprisingly, Apple left us in the dark regarding some specifics of the iPhone 5 upon its release. Thankfully, the good folks over at Anandtech have done a bit of digging into those numbers you see bordering Apple's Apple A6 SoC, definitively figuring out that Cupertino's latest phone packs in a total 1GB of Samsung-sourced memory. The site clocks the DRAM inside at 1,066Mhz, noting that it's comprised of "two 512MB dies in a dual-channel LPDDR2 package with 32 bits per channel." Further, Anandtech lists the the speed of the iPhone 5's memory at 8,528MB/sec -- an ample 33 percent boost over the 6,400MB/sec rating for the RAM in the iPhone 4S, but well below the 12,800 MB/sec needed to drive the new iPad's bandwidth-hungry screen resolution.

Beyond that, the site believes that the A6 is Apple's first truly in-house creation, as it's using math units too new to be found in a ARM Cortex-A9 architecture (like the A5 or A5X) but reportedly isn't a match for the soon-to-be-released Cortex-A15. If true, the implication is significant -- it suggests Apple is taking the more aggressive path of a chip designer like Qualcomm and custom-tailoring large parts of its processor designs to get the speed it wants on a more exacting schedule. That's a quick summation of the details; hit up the source links below if you want the explanation in full geek speak.

Jon Fingas contributed to this post.

Filed under: ,

Anandtech: Apple iPhone 5 features 1GB of RAM, A6 is a custom SoC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAnandtech (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

iPhone 5: the rumor roundup

Posted on by

iPhone 2012 and iPhone 4S shells compared

We're on the cusp of Apple's sixth iPhone launch, and there's very different expectations than there were last year. The 2011 rumor cycle left more than a few people burned: the later-than-usual October launch and repeated claims of a heavily-remade design led some to a disappointment when the iPhone 4S arrived, even though the final product had a slew of camera, speed and voice command upgrades. This year, the rumors have been grounded well before there was an event date in our hands.

There have been fewer instances of wild rumors. Instead, it's been based more around pragmatism, using either tangible leaks or sources that have a solid track record. Think of the perennial leaks from the Wall Street Journal or the increasingly well-established sourcing from iMore and The Loop. Whether you're conspiracy-minded or not, it's been hard to ignore the sheer number of claims that have tamped down expectations rather than inflated them. It's as though there's a collective fear we'll see a repeat of the 2011 hysteria and deal with fans (or detractors) complaining about missing features that were never promised in the first place.

Where last summer was full of uncertainty, this year there's a mounting consensus as to what we'll see, how we'll get it, and when. Tracking everything that's been mentioned may be a handful, however. With that in mind, we'll dive in and gauge what's likely to emerge from behind Apple's curtain on September 12th -- as well as what we can rule out from the get-go.

Continue reading iPhone 5: the rumor roundup

Filed under: ,

iPhone 5: the rumor roundup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments