Blurry Photos Show Logic Board for Next-Generation iPhone with Shielding Removed

[chrmjenkins]

Apple's SoC's may be designed in house, but I'd bet the ARM cores in them are shared with Samsung. There's probably still a deal between Sammy and Intrinsity with regards to the low power trickery.

Apple bought Intrinsity in 2010.

Apple has no real reason to work on their own version of ARM on Samsung process when Samsung's done that already.

Arguably they have the most reason. They know where their OS is going so they know exactly what they need their CPU to do.

So far iPhone's cores always used whatever Samsung had on offer at the time, starting with stock Samsung SoCs, followed by a very slightly rehashed A4 that shared a great deal of similarity with Samsung's version through the A5.

The A4 and Hummingbird have a great deal of similarity given their shared Intrinsity heritage. However, A5 is a full custom design with quite a few differences from the Exynos 4 design. Besides having a completely different GPU core, the CPU cores and supporting circuitry are completely different sizes.

The point being - there's an A15 Exynos out now, it's practically given this is the basis of an A6 in the new iPhone.

It's inevitable they'll both use A15, that doesn't mean it's shared technology with the Exynos 5. We may be surprised and find out apple is taking a more custom approach a la Qualcomm's S4 Krait chip which is a sort of hybrid between A9 and A15, much like Snapdragon was a hybrid between A8 and A9.

 

[voyagerd]

I really wish my iPhone 4S was faster in the Music app. It takes forever to find a song and start it playing and often hangs and crashes.

 

[rick98761]

The a5x is simply too big for a phone size wise. Those 2 extra gpu cores take up a lot of extra space, not to mention the ram is not included in the package so that's more room that will be needed on the mother board. I think it will have an a6 then the next iPad will have the a6x and so on.

 

[Wayfarer]

Image

Omg I made this in photoshop a while back! Haha thanks for bringing it back!

 

[sulpfiction]

WHY ARE ALL LEAK PICS BAD QUALITY. Even if i was rushed i could get a better pic than this.

Of the 600 or so leaked iPhone photos this year, I think this is the ONLY blurry one.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Apple really needs to shake up their designs, they are getting boring/being out-innovated by Apple

WOW, Who cares at this point. It's an iPhone 4s with an extra row if icons. And for that, you get to buy all new chargers, docking units, cases, etc. You get to have different cables for your iPad/iPhone.

If the rumors are correct, which I am rather hesitant to believe Apple would be this lame, then I'M OUT. (as they say on Shark Tank)

Why did you change everything? Now I have to buy new accessories.

/rinserepeat

 

[Aidan5806]

Of the 600 or so leaked iPhone photos this year, I think this is the ONLY blurry one.

i think not. many of the leaks have been well below par for those of us craning our necks to see the new iPhone

 

[zorpit]

Apple really needs to shake up their designs, they are getting boring/being out-innovated by Apple

I'll assume you mean Samsung. I'd say rather the excitement from touch screen peripherals has just peaked because they're old news now. It's reminiscent of the flip phone.

We'll have to patiently wait for new technology to develop for phones to be fun again. Although things should get exciting as the battle for which company can control the living room begins.

 

[hchung]

so no Arm A15 whereas samsung has already introduced the Exynos 5250 http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-exynos-5-dual-specs-features-106609/

Introduce doesn't mean shipping either. It just means, "hey, we're working on one."

The Exynos 5250 was introduced late 2011 I recall with engineering samples around January 2012-ish. (somebody'll find definite dates elsewhere) They're expected ship time was Q2, so they've already missed that. But I'm guessing it's close.

Likewise, the OMAP 5 is expecting Q3 2012, so they're coming up soon. This one's more closely related to an Apple chip because it's got both the A15 as well as the PowerVR GPUs. On the other hand, I expect it to take longer to finish as it's got way more stuff than I'd expect Apple would put on a phone SoC.

Tegra 4 is nVidia's A15 contender. It's next year. Probably latter half next year.

All it means is that there's a possibility of a Cortex-A15 on the next iPhone, but it'd be cutting things pretty close.

 

[lilo777]

Dude trust me they don't need it, check out this website www.glbenchmark.com

The 4s is way beyond every other phone (and most tablets) out there, even the quad core firecracker of a phone Samsung calls the "S III" is barely close to matching the 4s

Did you check this site yourself? SIII is faster than iPhone 4S in all regards. Also this is GPU test where iPhone 4S indeed does very well (still, keep in mind that it has lower resolution than many Android phones). However in CPU tests iPhone is way behind.

 

[chrmjenkins]

I'll assume you mean Samsung. I'd say rather the excitement from touch screen peripherals has just peaked because they're old news now. It's reminiscent of the flip phone.

We'll have to patiently wait for new technology to develop for phones to be fun again. Although things should get exciting as the battle for which company can control the living room begins.

I was being facetious.

Introduce doesn't mean shipping either. It just means, "hey, we're working on one."

The Exynos 5250 was introduced late 2011 I recall with engineering samples around January 2012-ish. (somebody'll find definite dates elsewhere) They're expected ship time was Q2, so they've already missed that. But I'm guessing it's close.

Likewise, the OMAP 5 is expecting Q3 2012, so they're coming up soon. This one's more closely related to an Apple chip because it's got both the A15 as well as the PowerVR GPUs. On the other hand, I expect it to take longer to finish as it's got way more stuff than I'd expect Apple would put on a phone SoC.

Tegra 4 is nVidia's A15 contender. It's next year. Probably latter half next year.

All it means is that there's a possibility of a Cortex-A15 on the next iPhone, but it'd be cutting things pretty close.

Someone else who is reasonable.

 

[hchung]

Apple's SoC's may be designed in house, but I'd bet the ARM cores in them are shared with Samsung. There's probably still a deal between Sammy and Intrinsity with regards to the low power trickery. Apple has no real reason to work on their own version of ARM on Samsung process when Samsung's done that already. So far iPhone's cores always used whatever Samsung had on offer at the time, starting with stock Samsung SoCs, followed by a very slightly rehashed A4 that shared a great deal of similarity with Samsung's version through the A5.

The point being - there's an A15 Exynos out now, it's practically given this is the basis of an A6 in the new iPhone.

Samsung, Apple, TI, and nVidia are all using the same CPU cores.... as is anybody else using an A9 or A8 already. So you don't need to bet.

The thing you're missing is that you're only comparing Samsung and Apple. What you don't realize is that the general sequence of events for most of these ARM SoCs are roughly the same. The best indicator of a realistic timeframe for an A15-based iPhone is actually the OMAP 5, not the Exynos because it helps you roughly factor in the time it takes to get a PowerVR GPU integrated into the package.

The "low power trickery" is probably not between Samsung and Apple/Intrinsity, but more likely stripping out unnecessary parts before the designs are sent to Samsung to manufacture. Given that there were rumors of Apple working on getting TSMC to do test runs, Samsung's is probably not doing any design work for Apple's SoCs.

 

[MythicFrost]

Whatever SoC they use in the iPhone 5 it will be at 32nm, which means it'll have even better battery life. I think we'll see a quad-core A9, but I hope we see a dual-core A15.

 

[Edd.Dantes]

If it's not a quad-core GPU, it's not an A5X variant, it's an A5 variant. Also, as OP mentions, RAM on package is essential. So while through process shrink and underclocking it may be possible to fit the RAM without the heat concerns of the iPad 3, I think we're much more likely to see a 32nm A5 variant with tweaked GPU and/or CPU cores (including quad possibility).

I don't think we'll see quad CPU or GPU though because it seems excessive given how iOS runs and the iPhone resolution.

I noted that it "may" have a quad-core GPU, which would make it a variant.

Also, was it necessary to pick apart such loosely used nomenclature...

Apple likely used the "X" [originally] because it would have many variants and wouldn't be an A5 specifically. "X" is a commonly used denotation, in this country, that indicates variations of a certain design.

They may very well use the A5X name for this phone, even if it only has an up-clocked dual GPU.

The only reason I wont write-off a quad GPU is the fact that Apple almost always leads the industry in GPU performance. They have a very lucrative gaming community. I personally hate iOS games but many love them.

Also, I highly doubt Apple will let Samsung/HTC lead the GPU race.

If they neuter this device, IMO they already have, they will leave it with a dual-core GPU. That would essentially make this a 4S.2.

rant
LTE is a joke and I'm not sure when the rest of the country will figure this out. If you are on a tiered plan, then you'll just run out of gas faster. Grandfathered people will eventually be bumped to a tiered data plan. Lawsuits will ensue but [insert cellular carrier] will win. They always do.

I know it is necessary to have LTE, nowadays, but it's not a "new" great feature. It is just Apple playing catch up.

Crippled NFC? Jailbreak fix. Shouldn't have to jailbreak to use your damn phone.

I wont even mention the screen. Without width, it's a joke.
/rant

The rant came about because I wrote this message over a period of time. Ha. Gloss over if you're an unapologetic fan boy/girl.

 

[brock2621]

I really wish my iPhone 4S was faster in the Music app. It takes forever to find a song and start it playing and often hangs and crashes.

Say whaaaa?? Mine is awesome!

 

[Technarchy]

The A5X would be ridiculous overkill at 1136x640...

And it would be awesome.

 

[swarmster]

"Other sources have been unclear on what chip Apple will use in the new iPhone given that it does not necessarily need the full graphics capabilities of the latest iPad..."

Can anyone explain this reasoning to me? I've seen it a number of times now.

Are they saying that phones have reached the highest peak of graphics performance that we'll ever need, so there's no longer any reason to upgrade graphics processors? As far as I know, no matter how much processing power you give a developer, they will take advantage of it.

On top of which, the iPhone represents one of the best selling (if not the best selling) video gaming platforms ever. But surely there is no need for graphics advancement in that realm (?)

On top of which the new iPhone will have a higher resolution display than the old one.

I'm sure Apple will continue trying to improve their products, no matter what analysts and commenters tell them they 'need' or 'don't need'.

 

[kalsta]

Blurry Photos Show Logic Board for Next-Generation iPhone with Shielding Removed

Poor new iPhone. So many revealing photos and now this. Celebrity gadgets have their dignity too!

 

[Rogifan]

WOW, Who cares at this point. It's an iPhone 4s with an extra row if icons. And for that, you get to buy all new chargers, docking units, cases, etc. You get to have different cables for your iPad/iPhone.

If the rumors are correct, which I am rather hesitant to believe Apple would be this lame, then I'M OUT. (as they say on Shark Tank)

Bye bye.

----------

Did you check this site yourself? SIII is faster than iPhone 4S in all regards. Also this is GPU test where iPhone 4S indeed does very well (still, keep in mind that it has lower resolution than many Android phones). However in CPU tests iPhone is way behind.

Isn't there some Android site where you can do your trolling?

 

[coy-technocrat]

I think with the high number of leaked parts... all these people should get together and build one already.

 

[dampfnudel]

So it looks like the iPhone that I'll upgrade to next year will get an A6.

 

[rick98761]

"Other sources have been unclear on what chip Apple will use in the new iPhone given that it does not necessarily need the full graphics capabilities of the latest iPad..."

Can anyone explain this reasoning to me? I've seen it a number of times now.

Are they saying that phones have reached the highest peak of graphics performance that we'll ever need, so there's no longer any reason to upgrade graphics processors? As far as I know, no matter how much processing power you give a developer, they will take advantage of it.

On top of which, the iPhone represents one of the best selling (if not the best selling) video gaming platforms ever. But surely there is no need for graphics advancement in that realm (?)

On top of which the new iPhone will have a higher resolution display than the old one.

I'm sure Apple will continue trying to improve their products, no matter what analysts and commenters tell them they 'need' or 'don't need'.

I would assume due to the huge size of the chipset and the power it takes to drive quad core graphics. Sure devs could use the power, but the cons outweigh the benefits. They would be better off using a newer more power efficient dual core gpu.

Everyone seems to forget the A5X is about 50% larger then an A5 and doesn't have the ram in the package like the A5. It would quite simply way to large for a phone.

 

[MacAPOL]

Even BB

Even BlackBerry Phones could take better pics than these lol.

 

[kdarling]

Is it just me, or does it look like these photos are not of logic boards, but are of pictures of logic boards on a computer screen?

Apparently they are photos of a monitor playing a video released by the Vietnamese website www.Tinhte.vn.

It also looks to me like the logic boards were originally videoed laying on a dirty pillow or sheet.

 

[sulpfiction]

i think not. many of the leaks have been well below par for those of us craning our necks to see the new iPhone

"craning ur neck"? Are u kidding?? Where have u been for the last 3 months. I'm being serious. This year has produced more crystal clear leaked photos then any other. If u don't know EXACTLY what the iPhone looks like, from just about every angle, you're living in a closet. Other then the logic board, processor, ram, and maybe a few other internals, we've seen everything. And at this point I don't want to know anymore. I want some suspense on the 12th.