Apple S1 chip

[KPOM]

So a question is, why give a circuit board a name (I mean, besides just making it sound cooler)?

One reason could be if they planned to keep the same "Watch" name with no "2" or "3" etc suffix, and instead for the next release are going to simply say "the Apple Watch now with an S2 processor".

Conceivably it is modular and replaceable. I doubt it, but I agree with you that they aren't going to have an 'Apple Watch 2" or "Apple Watch Air." This is another reason they didn't call it the iWatch. They'll just stick with the Apple Watch name with no numbers.

 

[matrix07]

I was just quoting from memory what they said in the reveal video - I'll have to go back and watch to get the exact verbiage.

Don't worry. Your memory is good.

 

[Runt888]

Don't worry. Your memory is good.

Awesome - thanks! Nice to know it can still be relied on from time to time

 

[kdarling]

Apple loves to give things names - makes it easier for people to be made aware of incremental upgrades. When the next Moto 360 comes out it will probably have much better internals, but they will list a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo that the vast majority of people will ignore. Apple can say "Look - here's the S2, it's moar better!"

Yep, that's a great point.

Don't worry. Your memory is good.

Woof. Apple's marketing department is stretching the meaning of "chip" to a ridiculous length.

In fact, in several decades of doing electronics, I don't think anybody I know has ever called a potted board a "chip".

If anything, it would be more commonly referred to as a "module".

 

[Runt888]

Woof. Apple's marketing department is stretching the meaning of "chip" to a ridiculous length.

In fact, in several decades of doing electronics, I don't think anybody I know has ever called a potted board a "chip".

If anything, it would be more commonly referred to as a "module".

I suppose an argument could be made for the fact that it's a single enclosed board with a single set of pins - but like you said, it probably comes down to the fact that "chip" sounds better from a marketing perspective.

 

[kdarling]

I suppose an argument could be made for the fact that it's a single enclosed board with a single set of pins - but like you said, it probably comes down to the fact that "chip" sounds better from a marketing perspective.

Yeah, it's definitely something that marketing came up with either on their own, or by accidentally overhearing something.

No engineer would call it a "chip", except perhaps as a slang shortcut among coworkers. Certainly never in a public document, where it could be considered misleading.

An enclosed circuit board with a set of pins is called a "module". It doesn't matter if it's a flasher module for a car that only contains a potted relay and timer, or a more complicated tiny GSM or GPS radio circuit board wrapped in a metal shell.

Calling the S1 a "chip" would be like calling a resin enclosed computer motherboard a "chip", because it is one part with pins that you connect external things to