iPhone 6 Plus - 2GB of RAM?

Milese3 · Sep 14, 2014

Hi.

I was on GSMArena today looking at the specs of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The site went into full detail of the specifications of the new handsets and I noticed something interesting- the RAM.

The site stated the iPhone 6 had 1GB of RAM- the same as rumours had previously suggested.

However, under the same section in the iPhone 6 Plus specs, the site showed 2GB of RAM.

I thought this was quite interesting as previous rumours pointed to the 5.5" iPhone 6 having a slightly better processor than the 4.7" iPhone 6. Does anyone know the credibility of these sources?

The iPhone 6 page: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6-6378.php
The iPhone 6 Plus page: http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6_plus-6665.php

Ayr · Sep 14, 2014

Yep, other sites listing those specs too. No idea where they're all pulling the data from though.

maflynn · Sep 14, 2014

We really don't know, I suppose until people start getting the IP6+ in their hands its all conjecture at this point.

spazma7ik · Sep 14, 2014

Yeah many sites are reporting this which is getting me very excited and hopeful.

Hexiii · Sep 14, 2014

Will we get to know by wednesday from the media reviews or they don't conduct benchmarks?

mtneer · Sep 14, 2014

It could also be clickbait?

stu.h · Sep 14, 2014

Is it possible to find out the RAM without pulling the device apart?

3rd party app?

robinp · Sep 14, 2014

mtneer said:
It could also be clickbait?

Or it could be the Plus uses the same version of the A8 as will be in the updated iPads. Makes sense - it has a similar resolution etc

Milese3 · Sep 14, 2014

robinp said:
Or it could be the Plus uses the same version of the A8 as will be in the updated iPads. Makes sense - it has a similar resolution etc

That's what I think, too.

Creep89 · Sep 14, 2014

stu.h said:
Is it possible to find out the RAM without pulling the device apart?

3rd party app?

Yes it's possible with an app like Geekbench 3.

gardiboy · Sep 14, 2014

See if anyone can do a geekbench 3 on the plus to juz find out..

pmau · Sep 14, 2014

robinp said:
Or it could be the Plus uses the same version of the A8 as will be in the updated iPads. Makes sense - it has a similar resolution etc

Nope. Apple has never built two versions of the same SoC.

The iPad version has a higher clock rate because it can handle the battery demands and the increased heat. More RAM requires a different SoC.

PS: Meaning that both iPhones could have 2GB RAM, but they will have the same amount regardless.

gardiboy · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
Nope. Apple has never built two versions of the same SoC.

The iPad version has a higher clock rate because it can handle the battery demands and the increased heat. More RAM requires a different SoC.

PS: Meaning that both iPhones could have 2GB RAM, but they will have the same amount regardless.

I really hope that is true. I went to geekbench's website and could not find any iphone 6 data there yet~

Hexiii · Sep 14, 2014

gardiboy said:
I really hope that is true. I went to geekbench's website and could not find any iphone 6 data there yet~

Maybe because nobody has the iPhone 6 yet?

pmau · Sep 14, 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_system_on_a_chip

Here you can see what chip was used in which devices.
They'll update the last row soon

borgqueenx · Sep 14, 2014

Gsmarena:
Employer: "****! What do we fill in for ram about the new iphones?"
Boss: "just fill in what you think is right and edit later if nessacary."

Milese3 · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
Nope. Apple has never built two versions of the same SoC.

The iPad version has a higher clock rate because it can handle the battery demands and the increased heat. More RAM requires a different SoC.

PS: Meaning that both iPhones could have 2GB RAM, but they will have the same amount regardless.

Hmm. I'd hope for a higher clock rate on the Plus. Honestly, I doubt the credibility of the leaked Geekbench 3 test. I'd be really nice if the iPhone 6/6 Plus had a processor clocked at 2.0GHz or above.

I guess we'll find out on Friday.

robinp · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
Nope. Apple has never built two versions of the same SoC.

The iPad version has a higher clock rate because it can handle the battery demands and the increased heat. More RAM requires a different SoC.

PS: Meaning that both iPhones could have 2GB RAM, but they will have the same amount regardless.

You should really do your research first.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_A7

Besides, just because something hasn't happened (even though it has) before doesn't mean it won't in the future

KenAFSPC · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
Nope. Apple has never built two versions of the same SoC.

The iPad version has a higher clock rate because it can handle the battery demands and the increased heat. More RAM requires a different SoC.

PS: Meaning that both iPhones could have 2GB RAM, but they will have the same amount regardless.

The A8 is the SoC. It doesn't have built-in memory. The memory is on a module with the A8 SoC. The 6 and 6+ could use the same module, to reduce costs, but this is by no means a technical requirement.

The next version of the iPad Air, which will also feature the A8, reportedly has 2GB memory.

pmau · Sep 14, 2014

The RAM is on the SoC. It's not a separate module ...

KenAFSPC · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
The RAM is on the SoC. It's not a separate module ...

No, it's not.

Apple is now using chip on board mounting, which puts the DRAM immediately adjacent to the SoC on a module. Both are covered by a single head spreader, so it appears to be a single chip, but it is not.

robinp · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
The RAM is on the SoC. It's not a separate module ...

See my link above. Again you are wrong, at least partially. The A7 in the iPad Air has separate memory

ucfgrad93 · Sep 14, 2014

maflynn said:
We really don't know, I suppose until people start getting the IP6+ in their hands its all conjecture at this point.

Agreed. We probably won't know for sure until there is a teardown of both models.

pmau · Sep 14, 2014

robinp said:
See my link above. Again you are wrong, at least partially. The A7 in the iPad Air has separate memory

Quote:
"It is manufactured in a package on package (PoP) together with 1 GB of LPDDR3 DRAM with a 64-bit wide memory interface onto the package.[6][24]"

This PoP packaging is done during manufacturing, it is done inside the chip.
You are right that the SoC is above the circuit board and the RAM is "below".

But it's all done inside the chip itself. It's all one chip, one package.

robinp · Sep 14, 2014

pmau said:
Quote:
"It is manufactured in a package on package (PoP) together with 1 GB of LPDDR3 DRAM with a 64-bit wide memory interface onto the package.[6][24]"

This PoP packaging is done during manufacturing, it is done inside the chip.
You are right that the SoC is above the circuit board and the RAM is "below".

But it's all done inside the chip itself. It's all one chip, one package.

You're reading the wrong bit. See here:

"Apple uses the APL5698 variant of the A7 chip in the iPad Air. Its die is identical in size and layout to that of the first A7 and is manufactured by Samsung.[25] However, unlike the first version of the A7, the A7 used in the iPad Air is not a package-on-package (PoP), having no stacked RAM. Instead it uses a chip-on-board mounting, immediately adjacent DRAM, and is covered by a metallic heat spreader, similar to the Apple A5X and A6X.[25][26]"

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