iPhone 6 Plus Teardown: Twice as Big a Battery as iPhone 5s [Update: 1 GB RAM Confirmed]

[Burger Thing]

Yeah, there's no socket and Ive wouldn't be involved in that in the first place, but points for effort.

You’ve concluded that it’s easy, so I can only assume you’ve conducted a thorough literature review of DRAM technology, an audit of available parts, a channel check, and a comprehensive engineering analysis of the iPhone and can recommend a suitable part or propose a superior design to accommodate your preferred part. We’d all be very interested in seeing your report.

Give me a second. It's weekend here. I have a busy Sunday but if you don't mind I will call my friends at Xiaomi, Sony, LG, Samsung, One plus One, etc, to send me a copy of their analysis, since they seem to have figured it out somewhat.

 

[dharadvani]

Credit for what? They're doing the exact same thing Samsung or LG or HTC are doing: putting their money where it does the most good.

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Give me a second. It's weekend here. I have a busy Sunday but if you don't mind I will call my friends at Xiaomi, Sony, LG, Samsung, One plus One, etc, to send me a copy of their analysis, since they seem to have figured it out somewhat.

Ah, but you're an expert and you've offered your expert conclusion. It should take you no time at all to provide this--you shouldn't need your phone a friend at all.

 

[randian]

Well, there are zero RAM chips in the A8, but giving you the benefit of the doubt for the moment, please point out for us a 32Gb package that would work.

We're talking RAM, not flash storage.

 

[Ries]

You'd be surprised.

1% of $200 profit per phone is about $2.

Not significant?

Consider a sale of 4M in 1 day.

$2 * 4,000,000?

That's $8,000,000. On the first day.

I'll say that again: Apple bagged $10 millions profits on just RAM chips on the first day of sale.

But it's definitely not 1% because RAM modules are definitely not $2-$3.

Last I checked, mobile RAM modules are priced at roughly $4-$10 even at volume pricing.

Total number of iPhone 5 sales have accumulated to 91,000,000 units as of this point. Source:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/iphone-5-sales-statistics/

So... if Apple is cashing in an extra $5 per phone?

That's $455,000,000... or just shy of half a billion dollar of profit over the whole run of the device... for just having 1GB less memory.

Again, Apple is a business. Profit margins in % may look insignificant to you, but accumulated over big numbers, and we have big profit margins.

The only thing insignificant here is how much of a negative impact an increase in RAM would have on the user experience.

As consumers, we should be asking for more. Instead, people are making up excuses after excuses because in their minds, Apple can do no fault.

The funny thing is when we look at the NAND prices.

32Gb is only about 19 cent more than 16GB, but 8GB is more expensive than both of them.

 

[H2SO4]

I understand your point, and you are right. What I was trying to say is there may be other, not so obvious reasons for this design choice. If this was just about margins and if, as you say, memory is so important to user experience - and if apple was willing to sacrifice that user experience for that profit - surely there are other things they could sacrifice for more profit and with less impact on user experience. To turn your example back in yourself - why invest so much in developing new processors if they dont increase user experience much, while sacrificing memory to save a little.

So - in the end - we dont know, so I dont think its right to say this is all about profit.

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No i think thats a whole different set of design choices.

Na. The whole things is about profit. I’m unsurprised by this also because it’s a business. What Apple have very carefully done is to weigh up things like that and price things at a point where people will still pay for the goods and put repairs at a cost high enough that they make money but not too high so that you feel like it’s better value to buy a new device.
They have found that balance very well indeed.
Cost of a battery replacement, cost of screen repair etc, etc

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iPhone 6+ insides

[url=http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o255/SonicSound_2007/DSCkX6EfcARJYOHamedium.jpeg]Image[/URL]

So what;
It also means that they reap the benefits with perception of quality. If your device isn’t designed to be user serviceable you can dance to whatever tune you like when it comes to fit and finish. Any device that is designed to have a removeable cover and battery etc will have to settle for a perception that it doesn’t feel as solid.
This is typically one of the differences betyween Apple and it’s competitors.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Give me a break, one web page. Can browse 5 on my lowly 3GS. Depends on the page and what's in it mostly and what you do besides browsing.

If you meant by this the iPhone 5+ models, which all have four times more RAM, can keep much-much more pages in memory, trying to make the "Safari tab reload" crowd be a bunch of whiners, then, you're absolutely wrong.

As I've pointed out in numerous posts of mine (and have also mentioned in this very thread), the higher the screen resolution, the (vastly) more memory needed for keeping a given Web page in memory when using UIWebView. As the 3GS only has a non-Retina screen, it has way lower memory needs when browsing. The iPhone4, which has double the RAM but already four times the pixels, has much more pronounced tab reloading problems than the 3GS because exactly of this. And the problem is the most prevalent with the iPhone 6+, which can keep the least pages in-memory.

 

[Fabricman112]

Jonathan Ive in 2009: "Apple's goal isn't to make money. Our goal is to design and develop and bring to market good products," he explained. "We trust as a consequence of that, people will like them, and as another consequence we'll make some money. But we're really clear about what our goals are."

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/next/archives/2009/07/jonathan_ive_th.html

isn´t the iPad mini Retina a better product than the first iPad mini??

perhaps the iPhone6S+ with 2GB ram would be a better product...

but no it is not about the money

 

[dharadvani]

We're talking RAM, not flash storage.

Yes, we are. What are you talking about?

 

[randian]

Yes, we are. What are you talking about?

You said "please point out for us a 32Gb package that would work". 32Gb is obviously not a RAM unit.

 

[mj1108]

People should demand MORE for their money. After all, that's how eonomy is driven... There was absolutely no reason for Apple to stick to 1GB apart from profits...

Profits and planned obsolesce. If they put 2 gigs in it, people would keep their iPhone 6's longer since they will be running well and won't have any need to upgrade.

Considering 99% of Apple's iPhone userbase doesn't care about the technology inside of the iPhone, Apple can get away with it.

 

[doelcm82]

I thought iphone 5 had 1GB RAM as part of planned obsolescence, now they should definitely upgrade the RAM and plan their obsolescence else where

You're right. The iPhone 5 had 1GB RAM so that two years later iPhone 5 users would upgrade to the iPhone 6 with 1GB RAM.

The phenomenal sales of the iPhone 6 don't bode well for those who are hoping for 2GB or more in the 6S or 7. Yes, it will make the 6 obsolete in two years, just as it did with the 5, but the next few models will probably keep the 1GB level so that they will also be obsolete two years later.

 

[randian]

The phenomenal sales of the iPhone 6 don't bode well for those who are hoping for 2GB or more in the 6S or 7. Yes, it will make the 6 obsolete in two years, just as it did with the 5, but the next few models will probably keep the 1GB level so that they will also be obsolete two years later.

The 6 is selling well because of the fancy new form factor. The 6S will not have that differentiating feature to drive upgrades, so it will need something else.

 

[Dmunjal]

You're right. The iPhone 5 had 1GB RAM so that two years later iPhone 5 users would upgrade to the iPhone 6 with 1GB RAM.

RAM is just one reason to upgrade. Apple always gives reasons to upgrade. Just not too many!

5: LTE, 4 inch screen
5s: TouchID and 64-bit
6: Big screen and NFC
6s: 2GB RAM and ?

 

[StyxMaker]

You're right. The iPhone 5 had 1GB RAM so that two years later iPhone 5 users would upgrade to the iPhone 6 with 1GB RAM.



The phenomenal sales of the iPhone 6 don't bode well for those who are hoping for 2GB or more in the 6S or 7. Yes, it will make the 6 obsolete in two years, just as it did with the 5, but the next few models will probably keep the 1GB level so that they will also be obsolete two years later.

I don't think you understand what the word obsolete means.

 

[s2mikey]

Profits and planned obsolesce. If they put 2 gigs in it, people would keep their iPhone 6's longer since they will be running well and won't have any need to upgrade.

Considering 99% of Apple's iPhone userbase doesn't care about the technology inside of the iPhone, Apple can get away with it.

Ya know, I don't think extra RAM or anything else will stop those who constantly upgrade from doing so. Those people will go to the ends of the earth to justify their yearly new phone purchase. Heck, Apple could change just the model number of the phone and add nothing and millions of people would STILL happily upgrade. Funny, but that's the way it is.

 

[doelcm82]

RAM is just one reason to upgrade. Apple always gives reasons to upgrade. Just not too many!

5: LTE, 4 inch screen
5s: TouchID and 64-bit
6: Big screen and NFC
6s: 2GB RAM and ?

Or it could be

6s: 13MP camera and ?

No guarantee it will be RAM.

 

[lockerc18]

The phenomenal sales of the iPhone 6 don't bode well for those who are hoping for 2GB or more in the 6S or 7. Yes, it will make the 6 obsolete in two years, just as it did with the 5, but the next few models will probably keep the 1GB level so that they will also be obsolete two years later.

You know... the iPhone5 isn't obsolete at all. Mine still works just fine. I'm getting a 6 Plus because I'm a gearhead and I have to have the latest gizmos, but not because there's anything wrong with my 5. The fact is, the 5 will continue to run great for a very long time. It's not obsolete by any stretch.

 

[doelcm82]

You know... the iPhone5 isn't obsolete at all. Mine still works just fine. I'm getting a 6 Plus because I'm a gearhead and I have to have the latest gizmos, but not because there's anything wrong with my 5. The fact is, the 5 will continue to run great for a very long time. It's not obsolete by any stretch.

Of course it's not obsolete (planned or otherwise). I was just being facetious. In two years the iPhone 6 will still have a lot of use left in it, too.

 

[MacBH928]

I think Apple might skip an iphone 7 next year as the iphone 6 is already too advanced and almost perfect its hard to think what else to add at this point.

It will be too difficult to make it any thinner or lighter, and any extra CPU/GPU will give lower battery performances. Also , CPU/GPU already too powerful for a cellphone

 

[H2SO4]

I think Apple might skip an iphone 7 next year as the iphone 6 is already too advanced and almost perfect its hard to think what else to add at this point.

It will be too difficult to make it any thinner or lighter, and any extra CPU/GPU will give lower battery performances. Also , CPU/GPU already too powerful for a cellphone

WTF??

Sir, Please. For your own safety. STEP AWAY FROM THE KOOL AID!!! Well away from the Kool Aid.

Actually, iPhone 6S is due next year if history is anything to go by.

 

[MacBH928]

WTF??

Sir, Please. For your own safety. STEP AWAY FROM THE KOOL AID!!! Well away from the Kool Aid.

Actually, iPhone 6S is due next year if history is anything to go by.

Just what I am thinking. Like when they did iPad 3 -> 4 upgrade they just added a new connector. It gave very very little reason to upgrade

 

[bill-p]

You're assuming they couldn't save $5 somewhere else in the phone.

You're assuming they couldn't save even more than $5 by doing all of it?

And now people think they are smarter than Apple's executives and board of directors? It just keeps getting better and better.

And you seem to think executives and the board of directors of a for-profit company is actually not out to make a profit?

Wow...

Well, there are zero RAM chips in the A8

What!?

but giving you the benefit of the doubt for the moment, please point out for us a 32Gb package that would work.

Ask other companies and they'll tell you?

Nope. There's a handy reference sheet here that shows you that even in a single module, going from 1Gb to 4Gb density increases active power consumption from 190mW to 240mW. That's a nearly 25% increase even in a single module setup.

Uh... where are these numbers? I couldn't find them at the link you gave.

In standby. Active power consumption is 200-300mW per module, and an iOS device has two modules in package, drawing a combined ~500mW in active operation. After the display and CPU/GPU, it's right up there with the wireless radio and flash storage gobbling up power.

500mW per hour?

Listen to yourself, my good sir...

Actual usage is nowhere near that close.

RAM is constantly on. That's the point. When RAM is in its active state, it is consuming 5-10% of the total operating power draw of 3-6W. That's still pretty substantial.

Uh... the battery is 7WHr.

3-6W per hour would mean just the SoC alone at full load would drain the battery in 2 hours or less.

So your iPhone lasts for only 2 hours?

I'll ignore the rest since you already have a fundamental error in your power draw calculations.

 

[thetruest]

Technology is advancing but there is only so much you can do on a ~5" device. Apple could have put in an OIS camera on the 4.7" model, kept the thickness of the 5s, combined it with a long lasting battery and slapped in easily 2-3 GByte of RAM in all models, and you had a device which would be good for the next years to come.

then the device would be ugly - and an even bigger, heavier thing than it already is now. Ie., it would be an android device.

So when Apple puts in a (almost pointless) 64 bit Chip into the

ur ridiculous.

it is called future proofing by

It is future proofing. It is called that, by Reality. The 5s was twice as fast as the 5. A rudimentary basic internet search of this by an idiot will bring up all the benchmarks. Not to mention much faster than all the other power-suckin quad-core BS droid paper weights at the time.

But restricting the RAM to 1 GByte is hardware optimization,

According to some of the more technical posts in this thread; possibly. Could be other reasons; but the technical posts have explained the possible optimizations.

LMAO

ur ridiculous. Look in the mirror.

 

[thetruest]

You're right. The iPhone 5 had 1GB RAM so that two years later iPhone 5 users would upgrade to the iPhone 6 with 1GB RAM.

the iphone 5 had 1GB of DDR2 memory, the 5s had 1GB of DDR3.

Lol @ the 5 being obsolete, thats a g1.

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Na. The whole things is about profit. etc

No. Apple was never just about profit.

Not while Steve Jobs was around.