iPhone 7 Teardown Reveals 'Incredibly Thin' A10 Chip With 2GB RAM, Intel Modem

[iReality85]

I think it's clear that the A10 chip has been the real (and unexpected) head turner. It's preliminary test performance has been the buzz of the web for the last week.

It'll be interesting to see where Apple goes in the years ahead with its newly proclaimed chip engineering prowess.

 

[cmichaelb]

I'm not sure why people are so worry about RAM on iOS. 1GB on the 6 was definitely too little, but 2GB is more than enough on my 6S Plus.

What are people doing on iOS with 4.7" screen that requires 3GB of RAM?

Pr0n?

People are stat whores.

 

[tigertazz]

Well said.

Wow, do I miss him. Hope you're in a better place, Steve.

He could make mouldy cheese sound exciting

 

[iReality85]

Not everyone wants a 5.5 iPhone just because it has 3 GB of Ram. 2GB is still adequate for some iPhone users.

I went for the 5.5" (7 Plus) because it has an actual 1080p screen, unlike the 4.7" size. I'm coming from a 5S.

3GB RAM and the dual camera are just gravy.

 

[calzon65]

After reading:

"As we previously noted, Apple is producing two different models of both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, with models for AT&T and T-Mobile users not including support for CDMA networks. This is apparently a result of a modem supplier split between Intel and Qualcomm, with Intel's current chips unable to support CDMA networks due to licensing issues. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modems can support both GSM and CDMA networks."

I'm looking forward to the time when US carriers finally adopt the full LTE implementation, meaning, voice over LTE (e.g., VoLTE) AND deprecate their 3G networks (GSM and CDMA). It can be very confusing for the general consumer to not understand why they can't take their iPhone and jump between the full AT&T/T-Mobile network which includes both LTE & GSM and the full Verizon/Sprint network that includes LTE & CDMA.

So to anyone who purchases an iPhone to operate on AT&T or T-Mobile, if there is any chance you may wish to use that phone on Verizon or Sprint, make absolutely sure you purchase the iPhone model that supports both GSM and CDMA to give you maximum flexibility across all US carriers. Outside the US, CDMA is not that important.

 

[Jimrod]

2GB or ram vs 3GB
Single vs dual camera
1334x750 vs 1920x1080
1960mAh battery vs 2900mAH

If the regular sized iPhone had the spec's of the larger model it would have been my dream phone. As it stands no way I'm buying the small model, again.

And I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Apple wants...

 

[ghost187]

I hope the iPhones next year get smaller footprint with less bezel rather than larger screens, because the plus model will continue to get better specs and features. All I honestly want is the iPhones to shrink in height so they fit better in my pockets.

 

[citysnaps]

I'm well aware what a faster processor is used for. And I'm willing to bet, outside of our MR circle of geeks, and maybe a few other geek spots aroudn the web, most users are not going to notice a significant difference in most of their everyday usage.

There are many areas where superior processor performance makes a big difference. Photo image processing and editing is just one example.

But... According to many of the bashers here, isn't Apple known for using previous years inexpensive sub-par low performance parts? You know, to save money and maximize profits because Apple doesn't care about customers?

 

[ike1707]

Amazing how far and ahead Apple is in the chip architecture in the mobile world and yet all you have is people complaining about the headphone jack...

All in all, my disappointment was in iOS 10.

 

[840quadra]

How so? For the typical user, would that extra 1GB make a significant difference to them?

I doubt it even makes a difference for an advanced user. More RAM makes sense for the dual camera system, more pixels to push on the Plus.

Even if it had 3, I am sure people would be pushing for 4 or 6 GB like in the other thread. Some day, people will learn that iOS is actually quite good at memory management. Not perfect, but good.

 

[DoctaSfink]

2GB or ram vs 3GB
Single vs dual camera
1334x750 vs 1920x1080
1960mAh battery vs 2900mAH

If the regular sized iPhone had the spec's of the larger model it would have been my dream phone. As it stands no way I'm buying the small model, again.

2GB of ram (USES LESS BATTERY) vs 3GB (USES MORE BATTERY)
Single camera (USES LESS RAM AND BATTERY) vs dual camera (USES MORE RAM AND BATTERY)
1334x750 (USES LESS RAM AND BATTERY) vs 1920x1080 (USES MORE RAM AND BATTERY)
1960mAh battery (LESS POWER CONSUMPTION)vs 2900mAH (MORE POWER CONSUMPTION)

 

[nviz22]

2GB of RAM/A10 that beats all previous mobile benchmarks. I want to see how bad the speed tests will be between the 820 and A10. Even the SE's A9 beats the 820.

 

[Wahlstrm]

Since the PLUS has to handle higher res versions of everything the extra RAM probably should have been standard since the first model to ensure equal performance. The first plus model was a bit laggy compared to the regular 6.

 

[CB1234]

To all those "courage" bashers:

Nostalgia !!! Good find... You can clearly see his passion when he talks about doing things which are not normal..

 

[MasterRyu2011]

Not everyone wants a 5.5 iPhone just because it has 3 GB of Ram. 2GB is still adequate for some iPhone users.

Since the majority of iPhone customers don't even care, let alone know about its internal specs, I would say it's adequate for most.

 

[Enabledobject]

To all those "courage" bashers:

Very fitting. That's awesome

 

[Sakurambo-kun]

Interesting to see that the space where the headphone jack should be is taken up by a pointless plastic spacer and the equality pointless taptic engine, which nobody wanted or sees the point of. Proving as expected that removing vital ports is ideological as well as commercial (lightning lock in). If Samsung and the rest follow Apple on this it really will be a sad day for tech. There blind leading the blind into a dead end of stupidity.

 

[meduzarija]

Amazing how far and ahead Apple is in the chip architecture in the mobile world and yet all you have is people complaining about the headphone jack...

This! Last week, I was having talking with my friend in local coffee shop, about new iPhones, and I couldn't emphasize enough what work of art Apple is doing with iPhones. Not talking about design, or software, just CPUs are more and more amazing! Every year, they are pushing the boundaries. I am really impressed! I would sacrifice headphone jack for the A10 any day!

 

[Bane-Thunder]

2GB or ram vs 3GB
Single vs dual camera
1334x750 vs 1920x1080
1960mAh battery vs 2900mAH

If the regular sized iPhone had the spec's of the larger model it would have been my dream phone. As it stands no way I'm buying the small model, again.

I ordered the normal iPhone 7 Silver. Dude since the iPhone 6S got 2 gb ram the phone is blazing fast, I'm certainly not worried about needing 3 GB ram. Especially when testers have already said they cant see any difference in real world performance between the 7 plus an the norm 7.

 

[TrueBlou]

I doubt it even makes a difference for an advanced user. More RAM makes sense for the dual camera system, more pixels to push on the Plus.

Even if it had 3, I am sure people would be pushing for 4 or 6 GB like in the other thread. Some day, people will learn that iOS is actually quite good at memory management. Not perfect, but good.

Well said that man? I've often remarked on the same myself. During development I'm often surprised by just how memory efficient iOS is, that's when I notice it most. When I'm debugging, pushing the system and monitoring it in real time. But you're dead right, regardless of what memory Apple stuff in there, there's always going to be people wanting more. Especially people on here

Honestly I'm thinking I might even stick with my ancient 6+ and its paltry 1GB of memory.

The biggest issue I see in normal daily usage with it is more refreshing in safari. Meh, I can probably tolerate the odd 1 second reload and hold out until next years big refresh of the iPhone. Because other than that it just doesn't seem to hold me back from doing anything.

 

[realeric]

People said 1GB ram was enough. Why do you need 2GB ram? Now you are saying why you need 3GB ram. We definitely need 3 or 4 GB ram now. 2GB is too small in 2016~2018.

 

[cdmoore74]

And I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Apple wants...

I would have been extremely pleased with one model in 5 colors, a 5" phone with all the spec's of the Plus model. That would have made this launch day special. No guessing/waiting for the model you want. Pick a color and rock out like the old days. I would have even picked the ugly pink color if my color was out of stock.

 

[Poochi]

2GB or ram vs 3GB
Single vs dual camera
1334x750 vs 1920x1080
1960mAh battery vs 2900mAH

If the regular sized iPhone had the spec's of the larger model it would have been my dream phone. As it stands no way I'm buying the small model, again.

As much as I LOVE the spec of the plus, [1-handed use] > Sum [+1 camera, 1080p, +1 GB RAM, +bigger battery, -more power consumption, -more ram requirement, -more $$$, -more weight]

 

[cdmoore74]

I ordered the normal iPhone 7 Silver. Dude since the iPhone 6S got 2 gb ram the phone is blazing fast, I'm certainly not worried about needing 3 GB ram. Especially when testers have already said they cant see any difference in real world performance between the 7 plus an the norm 7.

Willing to bet that the Plus models will have split screen in iOS 11 next year. That would be a valid reason to have 3 gigs of ram.

 

[jonnysods]

To all those "courage" bashers:

What a flipping champion. I miss this guy.