iPhone 3G S Has a 600 MHz Processor, 256MB of RAM, PowerVR SGX

[MacRumors]

T-Mobile.nl has posted some technical specs about the iPhone 3G S revealing that the newest iPhone carries a 600 MHz processor and 256MB of RAM.

600 MHz is notably faster than the current iPhone and iPod Touch which runs at 412 MHz and 532 MHz, respectively. Until now, the 2nd Generation iPod Touch has been the fastest device in the lineup by a good margin. Meanwhile, the previous generation models where also limited to 128 MB of RAM, so the new device offers twice as much which could be a welcome change to developers. The processor/ram information seems to confirm many details that were first revealed in a Chinese forum post.

Apple has been particularly unrevealing about the detailed hardware specs for the new iPhone even to developers at WWDC. The new iPhone is also believed to use the new PowerVR SGX graphics processing unit which provides support for OpenGL ES 2.0. This notably improved performance may require developers to support these multiple device capabilities within their apps.

For those interested in more of a technical analysis, Anandtech offers a detailed breakdown of the new iPhone's processor and GPU, according to their sources. The information lines up with the other reports referenced above.

Although unannounced, the iPhone 3GS uses (again) a Samsung SoC but this time instead of the ARM11 + MBX-Lite combo it’s got a Cortex A8 and PowerVR SGX; just like the Pre.

Article Link: iPhone 3G S Has a 600 MHz Processor, 256MB of RAM, PowerVR SGX

[ricosuave]

This new iPhone is faster than my original Mac Plus!

[Consultant]

Original iPhone and original iPhone 3g have a processor around 600mhz. It's clocked down for battery life.

[Ross123]

Should make for some smoother scrolling around heavy 2.0 websites!

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by Consultant

Original iPhone and original iPhone 3g have a processor around 600mhz. It's clocked down.

True. And the new iPhone has an 866MHz processor, but clocked down (according to the Anandtech article / Samsung SoC block diagram).

iPhone 3GS only has SGX520 though, not SGX530 like the Pre.

http://www.design-reuse.com/news/195...-2-0-core.html

[chelsel]

is it OpenCL compatible :-)

[soren054]

Originally Posted by Hattig

True. And the new iPhone has an 866MHz processor, but clocked down (according to the Anandtech article / Samsung SoC block diagram).

iPhone 3GS only has SGX520 though, not SGX530 like the Pre.

http://www.design-reuse.com/news/195...-2-0-core.html

is there any "unclocking" software fix for the 2G or 3G iphone on cydia? Just wondering...

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by chelsel

is it OpenCL compatible :-)

I don't think so, you'd need SGX543 for that, which has the enhanced shader cores. However the wikipedia page for PowerVR says that there is an unknown licensee for this core for a 70MPoly/s version (the 520 is 7MPoly) - could that be Apple, for PASemi?

You still have NEON and enhanced FPU with the Cortex A8 though.

[The Monkey]

what are the specs for the first gen phone?

[syklee26]

is the iPhone going to make my dream come true and become the legendary Powerbook G5?

[Drumjim85]

Originally Posted by The Monkey

what are the specs for the first gen phone?

it says in the article. 412MHz and 128MB ram. The 3G didn't get a spec bump there.

[QCassidy352]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

600 MHz is notably faster than the current iPhone and iPod Touch which runs at 412 MHz and 532 MHz, respectively. Until now, the 2nd Generation iPod Touch has been the fastest device in the lineup by a good margin.

I would assume, though, that the ipod touch uses an faster-clocked version of the previous iphone processor. So the actual speed difference between the new iphone processor and the 2G ipod touch processor would be considerably more than if the new iphone used the same processor but clocked 68 mhz higher, right?

[dr_lha]

Originally Posted by ricosuave

This new iPhone is faster than my original Mac Plus!

The old iPhone is massively more powerful than a Mac Plus (which had a 8Mhz 68000), let alone the new one.

[QCassidy352]

Originally Posted by dr_lha

The old iPhone is massively more powerful than a Mac Plus (which had a 8Mhz 68000), let alone the new one.

I'm curious how it stacks up next to my first computer, a 400 mhz, 256 RAM imac G3. It certainly has a higher capacity! (13 GB HD)

[BornAgainMac]

It would be nice to have it as a computer someday too. For example, you can go home and place it in a Dock that is hooked up to a multi-touch screen and keyboard / mouse. Maybe in 5 years it can happen and be good enough for most like how laptops are replacing desktops today (Unheard of 10 years ago).

[BRLawyer]

Originally Posted by BornAgainMac

It would be nice to have it as a computer someday too. For example, you can go home and place it in a Dock that is hooked up to a multi-touch screen and keyboard / mouse. Maybe in 5 years it can happen and be good enough for most like how laptops are replacing desktops today (Unheard of 10 years ago).

What about the PowerBook Duo and the DuoDock? This happened MORE than 10 years ago...

http://www.apple-history.com/?page=g...&model=duodock

[wilycoder]

This sucks.

iPhone 3g chip supports OpenGL ES 1.1.

New iPhone supports OpenGL ES 2.0.

This will require developers of 3d apps to write 2 versions of their app.

It will fracture the app store.

Sigh.

[DipDog3]

Yea, just saw this.

Once again I am glad I waited another year for this upgrade instead of getting the 3G!


Can't wait till the 19th!

[kas23]

Hmmmm. Which model are developers going to develop for, the 3G or 3Gs? It seems to me if they optimize for the 3Gs, this is going to leave millions of people with slow or crashy apps, which is something that will not be good for the developer. Or, are they going to cater to the lowest common denominator?

Originally Posted by DipDog3

Yea, just saw this.

Once again I am glad I waited another year for this upgrade instead of getting the 3G!


Can't wait till the 19th!

This is probably what I'll be saying in 12 months about the 3Gs. :-)

[QCassidy352]

Originally Posted by kas23

Hmmmm. Which model are developers going to develop for, the 3G or 3Gs? It seems to me if they optimize for the 3Gs, this is going to leave millions of people with slow or crashy apps, which is something that will not be good for the developer. Or, are they going to cater to the lowest common denominator?

I think at first you'll see development for both, but as the 3GS gains marketshare, devs will target it more and more. When a 3G ipod touch comes out with similar hardware in a few months we'll see even more apps that can't run on the older hardware. It amazes me that people have been calling this an minor update for the past two days.

[kas23]

Originally Posted by wilycoder

This sucks.

iPhone 3g chip supports OpenGL ES 1.1.

New iPhone supports OpenGL ES 2.0.

This will require developers of 3d apps to write 2 versions of their app.

It will fracture the app store.

Sigh.

Maybe this is what Apple is trying to force? To sell more new units?

Originally Posted by QCassidy352

I think at first you'll see development for both, but as the 3GS gains marketshare, devs will target it more and more. When a 3G ipod touch comes out with similar hardware in a few months we'll see even more apps that can't run on the older hardware. It amazes me that people have been calling this an minor update for the past two days.

The problem is that there are 13+ million 3G iPhones out there. Do you really think the 3Gs is going to overtake this marketshare? My guess is never.

[Zweben]

Originally Posted by ricosuave

This new iPhone is faster than my original Mac Plus!

Forget Mac Plus, the new iPhone is as fast as the iBook G3 I used to have, and that was introduced in 2001!

[mobilehavoc]

I think all they did was turn up the speed on the current iPhone CPU to 600mhz (last I remember the current iPhone 3G CPU is rated at 600mhz but Apple runs it at 412mhz) and add 128MB of RAM.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. They wouldn't change the CPU/3D chipset because it'd fracture the AppStore and be a nightmare for developers.

[chrmjenkins]

Originally Posted by wilycoder

This sucks.

iPhone 3g chip supports OpenGL ES 1.1.

New iPhone supports OpenGL ES 2.0.

This will require developers of 3d apps to write 2 versions of their app.

It will fracture the app store.

Sigh.

It had to happen eventually.

Originally Posted by Hattig

True. And the new iPhone has an 866MHz processor, but clocked down (according to the Anandtech article / Samsung SoC block diagram).

iPhone 3GS only has SGX520 though, not SGX530 like the Pre.

http://www.design-reuse.com/news/195...-2-0-core.html

The Cortex (LP) is intended to run at 600 MHZ nominal. I don't know where your 866 MHZ comes from. Also, the author is postulating that it uses the SGX 520, we have no confirmation there.

Originally Posted by mobilehavoc

I think all they did was turn up the speed on the current iPhone CPU to 600mhz (last I remember the current iPhone 3G CPU is rated at 600mhz but Apple runs it at 412mhz) and add 128MB of RAM.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. They wouldn't change the CPU/3D chipset because it'd fracture the AppStore and be a nightmare for developers.

There's no way you can guarantee a 2x performance increase with less than a 1.5x clock speed increase. It's a different processor for sure.

[kdarling]

Originally Posted by Consultant

Original iPhone and original iPhone 3g have a processor around 600mhz. It's clocked down for battery life.

This is not an verifiable fact, and is actually unlikely.

The "600 Mhz" number came from reading the optional manufacturing techniques for chips like the one Apple used.

It does NOT mean their chip is rated that high, which requires testing at that speed, and more cost. Apple had no reason to pay extra for something they didn't intend to use. They would be smart to pay less for chips that only passed at the required speed.