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Apr 12, 2001
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iphone_4_audio_chip.jpg

White-labelled Audience audio processor highlighted in yellow

iFixit reports that the chip responsible for handling the noise cancellation capabilities of the iPhone 4 has finally been identified, with chip teardown firm Chipworks pegging it has having come from Audience, the producer of high-end voice processors found in such devices as the Nexus One. The identification was made more difficult by Apple's move to have the chip "white-labelled" by Audience to remove any specific identifying marks on the outside of the chip package. From iFixit's report:
There was one small, 3mm x 3mm chip that we weren't able to identify during our teardown. It was white-labelled, meaning Apple asked the manufacturer to remove their branding from the package to make it difficult for folks like us to identify. The markings on the chip '10C0 01S8 0077' didn’t match any existing part in our database, and we didn't pursue it further. This part turned up again this February when we got our hands on the Verizon (CDMA) iPhone 4.
With Chipworks finally performing a decapping procedure to analyze the internal structure of the chip in question, telltale signs including an "Audience" die marking buried inside the chip confirmed that the company is indeed responsible for the audio signal processor in the iPhone 4.

iphone_4_audience_die_marking.jpg

"Audience" die marking discovered inside audio processor

The confirmation reveals yet another high-profile design win for Audience, which has seen its chips incorporated into smartphones from Samsung, HTC, and other manufacturers and has established itself as offering the top-performing noise cancellation technology in the industry.

Article Link: iPhone 4 Noise Cancellation Delivered by Chip From Audience
 
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Why was the chip White labelled? Any reason Apple wouldn't have wanted people to know it was by audience?
 
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Why was the chip White labelled? Any reason Apple wouldn't have wanted people to know it was by audience?

Doesn't want competitors to get a head start on how to clone.
 
The thread title made me think that Steve asked the crowd for new ideas during his last iPhone presentation and someone dug through their pockets and brought up a chip that worked pretty well, so Apple used it. :D
 
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akm3 said:
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Why was the chip White labelled? Any reason Apple wouldn't have wanted people to know it was by audience?

Doesn't want competitors to get a head start on how to clone.

Clone what exactly? Their tech was already being used in the NexusOne and in other phones too (as per the article).
 
They actually printed their logo INSIDE the chip onto the printed transistor thingy? Probably someone said "well one day some company won't let us put our logo on the chip, so we have to make our transistors into the shape of our logo so that someone can still identify us if they cut the apart and scan it with a microscope."
 
They actually printed their logo INSIDE the chip onto the printed transistor thingy? Probably someone said "well one day some company won't let us put our logo on the chip, so we have to make our transistors into the shape of our logo so that someone can still identify us if they cut the apart and scan it with a microscope."

This has been standard practice for decades.

For instance, the MOS Technology 6502 (released in 1975):

http://blog.visual6502.org/2010/09/6502-vs-6507.html
 
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Why was the chip White labelled? Any reason Apple wouldn't have wanted people to know it was by audience?

It came with the White iphone and they wanted to match the color!
 
If they cancelled the orders would there be a big noise about it?
 
I am shocked to know that a whole chip is needed for noise cancelation.

Are u kidding me? If u have 2 mics, all could be done via software in iOS with EQ. And some parameters.

Why is a chip needed for this?
:rolleyes:

Bull
 
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