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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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iphone_4s_teardown.jpg



iFixit has already begun a high-quality teardown of the iPhone 4S, and while a considerable number of the internal parts have already been seen in leaked parts prior to the device's launch, a more thorough look at the individual components should provide some interesting details on the device.

The teardown is still just getting underway, with iFixit's technicians having opened up the device, examined the battery and pulled out the logic board, but we'll update this post with additional information as the teardown progresses.

Items of interest:

- The baseband chip is a previously-undisclosed Qualcomm MDM6610, an apparent variation of the MDM6600 used in the CDMA iPhone 4 and other devices. It is unclear at this time what differentiates the MDM6610 from the MDM6600.

- As noted by AnandTech, the part number found on the A5 chip in iFixit's teardown confirms earlier claims that the iPhone 4S carries 512 MB of RAM.

- iFixit confirms that the iPhone 4S uses the linear oscillating vibrator motor as found in the CDMA iPhone 4 rather than the rotational motor found in the GSM iPhone 4. As seen in earlier parts images, the entire internal layout of the iPhone 4S is much more like the CDMA iPhone 4 than the GSM iPhone 4, although Apple obviously had to tweak the chip layout somewhat to squeeze the micro-SIM slot onto the logic board. One exception is the display assembly mounting tabs, which follow the GSM iPhone 4's layout rather than the CDMA version's.

- Chipworks is following along with iFixit's teardown and providing a closer look at the chips discovered inside the iPhone 4S. Many of the chips had already been found in other devices, and Chipworks publishing die photos and other details on them as the information is gathered.

Article Link: iPhone 4S Teardown: New Qualcomm MDM6610 Baseband Chip, 512 MB RAM Confirmed
 

alex00100

macrumors 6502
Mar 17, 2011
469
1,227
Moscow, Russia
iphone 4s is out... but people are still used to iPhone rumors is the purpose of such news i guess... how cares whats inside?




just collecting those down votes ;)
 
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koobcamuk

macrumors 68040
Oct 23, 2006
3,195
9
Excellent. Let's see the difference between the 4S and the 4! 512MB RAM? With a good OS, it isn't a problem.
 

9822737

Cancelled
Jul 23, 2008
773
15
Can't wait for this, their tear downs are the best and will be interested to see what is in my new phone!
 

mgsarch

macrumors regular
Jan 19, 2008
155
0
It isn't the OS that concerns me. I want as much memory as possible so Safari doesn't have to reload tabs every time you switch.

and/or Maps checkerboards among a plethora of other indisputable reasons 1gb would only have been a good thing.

Article about less ram being necessary for better battery life is nonsense. Samsung isn't having problems with 1gb and better battery life than the iPhone. After 18 months "in-development" the iPhone 4S is using a downclocked ipad2 processor with ipad1 ram. I love Apple but you've gotta be truly brainwashed to be trying to say this is a good thing or "no problem". Apple stagnates development, Google ramps up. We'll see what happens.

Feels like the hardware team took a vacation while the iOS devs made Siri. Lame strategy.
 

dagamer34

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2007
1,359
101
Houston, TX
and/or Maps checkerboards among a plethora of other indisputable reasons 1gb would only have been a good thing.

Article about less ram being necessary for better battery life is nonsense. Samsung isn't having problems with 1gb and better battery life than the iPhone. After 18 months "in-development" the iPhone 4S is using a downclocked ipad2 processor with ipad1 ram. I love Apple but you've gotta be truly brainwashed to be trying to say this is a good thing or "no problem". Apple stagnates development, Google ramps up. We'll see what happens.

Feels like the hardware team took a vacation while the iOS devs made Siri. Lame strategy.

Ditto. That story was real BS. Any power savings from having less RAM are instantly negated by having to redownload images over WiFi and especially 3G. Plus, kicking apps out of RAM means they have to re-initialize themselves, burning more CPU cycles.

Sinofsky's post only makes sense because Windows has virtual RAM that's saved to the local hard drive. None of the mobile operating systems do that because they don't want to wear out the flash by wasting precious write cycles. And that feature actually turns itself off in Windows when it detects an SSD is present for the same reason as stated before.
 

*LTD*

macrumors G4
Feb 5, 2009
10,703
1
Canada
Apple stagnates development, Google ramps up. We'll see what happens.

Apple perfects the User Experience, others just throw more specs into boxes.

What will happen is predictable: blockbuster sales and top marks in consumer satisfaction. The usual. Why? See above.

Apple does a helluva lot more with less. Again, we go right back to User Experience rules. Rule #1: never license your OS to everyone and their dog. The only truly optimized experience comes from vertical integration, the kind that Apple practices.

That is why a comparatively under-specced iPhone performs vastly better than the competition.
 

jfrancis04

macrumors 6502a
Jun 11, 2010
608
174
Maybe I'm behind but has the RAM been confirmed? I've heard 512mb and 1gb so many different times I'm not sure which was accurate.
 

X-rated

macrumors member
Apr 30, 2010
37
0
Apple stagnates development, Google ramps up. We'll see what happens..

Apple doesn't stagnate development they just know how to limit it over updates so the consumer keeps buying and they keep making boat loads of cash. That what Steve was a genius of, was marketing.
 
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