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Photo of iPad 3 Logic Board with "A5X" System on a Chip
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I didn't express myself correctly, I meant a more complete version of OS X with a OS X-like UI While being as fast as iOS. Like windows 8 is unifying their pc-tablet OS
iOS will surely have some great updates in the future, some particular to the iPad. As the processing power increases, so will functionality. But, I cannot see them unifying the two products anytime soon. Both OS X and iOS offer what Apple thinks is the best user experience for their respective devices. Microsoft is jumping into Apple's game. Apple already has a great tablet OS. They think it's so great they wanna put aspects of it into their laptops/desktops.
Not sure what you mean by that. Windows 7 (and earlier) was a full fledged OS running on a tablet. It just worked terribly as a touch device (ever tried using an HP Slate?).
It would make sense for them to not completely overhaul the CPU this time around if they are planning other significant changes.
iPhone -> iPhone 3G, few under the hood changes, external redesign
iPhone 3G -> 3GS, significant change to hardware, identical design
3Gs -> 4, few internal changes (600-800Mhz, still Cortex A8), external redesign
4 -> 4S, plenty of changes internally(2x core count, A8->A9), near identical design
iPad -> iPad 2, minor redesign, significant change internally
The same is roughly true of their notebooks but the trend is harder to spot.
iPhone -> iPhone 3G, few under the hood changes, external redesign
iPhone 3G -> 3GS, significant change to hardware, identical design
3Gs -> 4, few internal changes (600-800Mhz, still Cortex A8), external redesign
4 -> 4S, plenty of changes internally(2x core count, A8->A9), near identical design
iPad -> iPad 2, minor redesign, significant change internally
The same is roughly true of their notebooks but the trend is harder to spot.
I think they're just trolling by labeling it that just in case the prototype leaks. Just to screw with people xD
Tegra 3 has a quad-core Cortex-A9 based CPU. Anyhow, Apple makes their own custom CPUs based on licensed ARM designed cores. There's no reason to assume that they shouldn't be able to design a quad-core chip if they see fit. I do agree with you that Cortex-A15 based designs are on the horizon; the question is will Apple be aggressive and make the jump with the upcoming iPad or will they play it safe and wait until the next cycle.
I'm not sure I've got this right, but my understanding is that it's the Metro apps that run both on Windows 8 desktop and tablet devices. You can't just take your desktop version of Photoshop and run it on your tablet, nor does the tablet have a full-blown desktop OS. It's really more like running iOS apps on your Mac. Which is also coming.
You've described it pretty well.
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The Cortex A15 is coming and the PowerVR Rogue GPU is coming. I don't see Apple releasing two iPads a year just to be aggressive so I'll play it safe and say they're coming around March of next year. That processor will be a beast.
I hope this isn't Apples answer to simpler/convenient. iOS on a capable tablet makes no sense to me at all. Other than watching videos and browsing the internet (not I said browsing, not using web based apps) I find limited use for the iPad because of the simplistic OS.
Same goes for Android.
I'm looking forward to seeing is Microsoft's approach is any better.
And my take on this:
I am just doing a wild guess:
It is the same core as in the A5 but instead of Dual Core, just Quad Core - and maybe more MHz.
The interesting thing is the metal enclosure instead of the ceramic. That might be in order to transfer heat to a heat sink/spreader.
Since Apple has a road map, I guess their A6 with lower nm technology was not ready for mass production, yet, so they integrated other upgrades on-die such as graphics processing and double the core count and called it the day.
Reason I can see is the same as the Retina Display upgrade rumored around last summer: There was not enough production capacity available to produce the numbers needed to provide the demand. Nothing would be more desasterous for Apple than being able to only provide 20-50% of what they could sell. That is where your accountants run in the production and dev managers' doors with psych evals to see if they are insane. Sure, Apple is probably capable of constructing an iPad with 8 cores, 4GB RAM, a Retina Display, and 15h of battery life. Building it is one thing. Mass producing it and having it reliable for at least 3 years without significant breakdowns is another - not even talking about costs. So, I simply think that if the A5X is a mixture between the A5 and what the roadmap deems to be the A6, it is probably due to the problem of scalability not being ready, yet. We all want the "new" thing rather yesterday than tomorrow. I think that is one of the tough calls a manager has to do when development runs into the barrier that one component is not developing fast enough - do you wait up or look for an alternative? I think Apple's concept is working: Make it about consumer experience: If it works well and has the right "feel" to it, it's sellable.
One last word to the people who complain that the iPad might not have enough power for their video/picture editing in case it is not a quadcore: Get an iMac or PC then. Its a freakin' tablet for good's sake! It's not meant to be a supercomputer. If you have to wait for the result a few seconds, you either suck it up or realize that - even tough you can do that on an iPad - it is not what it was meant for.
I am just doing a wild guess:
It is the same core as in the A5 but instead of Dual Core, just Quad Core - and maybe more MHz.
The interesting thing is the metal enclosure instead of the ceramic. That might be in order to transfer heat to a heat sink/spreader.
Since Apple has a road map, I guess their A6 with lower nm technology was not ready for mass production, yet, so they integrated other upgrades on-die such as graphics processing and double the core count and called it the day.
Reason I can see is the same as the Retina Display upgrade rumored around last summer: There was not enough production capacity available to produce the numbers needed to provide the demand. Nothing would be more desasterous for Apple than being able to only provide 20-50% of what they could sell. That is where your accountants run in the production and dev managers' doors with psych evals to see if they are insane. Sure, Apple is probably capable of constructing an iPad with 8 cores, 4GB RAM, a Retina Display, and 15h of battery life. Building it is one thing. Mass producing it and having it reliable for at least 3 years without significant breakdowns is another - not even talking about costs. So, I simply think that if the A5X is a mixture between the A5 and what the roadmap deems to be the A6, it is probably due to the problem of scalability not being ready, yet. We all want the "new" thing rather yesterday than tomorrow. I think that is one of the tough calls a manager has to do when development runs into the barrier that one component is not developing fast enough - do you wait up or look for an alternative? I think Apple's concept is working: Make it about consumer experience: If it works well and has the right "feel" to it, it's sellable.
One last word to the people who complain that the iPad might not have enough power for their video/picture editing in case it is not a quadcore: Get an iMac or PC then. Its a freakin' tablet for good's sake! It's not meant to be a supercomputer. If you have to wait for the result a few seconds, you either suck it up or realize that - even tough you can do that on an iPad - it is not what it was meant for.
a review of the new Qualcomm A9 based processor:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5559/...ormance-preview-msm8960-adreno-225-benchmarks
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5559/...ormance-preview-msm8960-adreno-225-benchmarks
Maybe technically, but not from a user's point of view
Yes, but it isn't really a smaller version of OS X. (ok, maybe technically, but it's been stripped down so much that it barely even counts as the same.
Yes, but it isn't really a smaller version of OS X. (ok, maybe technically, but it's been stripped down so much that it barely even counts as the same.
Why not disassemble yours and let us know?...
Seriously, "X" on a chip? what does that really tell us? Nada. I'm sick of the hype, and since my iPad 2 is now in a buddies possession (USPS willing) I want the three. I didn't think I would miss the device as much as I have.
I was just thinking that the GPU could be a more advanced SGX554 rather than a SGX543MP4 which was announced 2 years ago however I can find very little on it after ruling out the 600 series due to it not been released until at least 2013.
Will be interesting to see what happens anyway with the iPad 3
Will be interesting to see what happens anyway with the iPad 3
OMAP 5 A15 multicore processor vs. quad-core ARM Cortex-A9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_kgPlsczhZg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_kgPlsczhZg
yeah but as everyone already said, the A15 is like 5% chance or something to be in the ipad 3. its to new technology to be used.
For now. If I understand everything correctly, the WinRT API, which is the backbone of all Metro apps, is set to eventually replace Win32. Sooner or later, all apps will be Metro.
Taking warnings of the doomsday sayers, about the price/value of the iPad2 dropping when the iPad3 launches, I got a jump on selling my beloved iPad2 64GB 3G on the e*ay site. It sold in less than 5 minutes. Whoa! Now I'm without my iPad until the 3 launches. I am surprised how much I used it since I don't have it anymore. Bummer. Don't care anymore about the specs, I just want the 3 to be available. March 7 seems so far away.
http://9to5mac.com/2012/02/26/apple-working-on-enhanced-a5-chip-a5x-and-completely-new-chip-a6/
Apple working on enhanced A5 chip (A5X) AND completely new chip (A6)
Mark Gurman Apple Inc iOS Devices Discussion (45)
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Typically, when Apples product launched approaches, many industry watchers offer conflicting views on the features the new products might sport. Fifth-generation iPhone rumors mostly conflict in terms of the products design, but industry watchers seem to agree on features like an improved camera or a dual-core processor. With the upcoming iPad 3, most industry watchers agree on a design similar to the iPad 2′s design and a Retina Display. Notably, publications are disagreeing on the new iPads processor, because some are pointing to a quad-core A6 chip and others are calling for an improved A5 dual-core chip. Why, though? Well, Apple is actually developing both
While trustworthy publications like iMore and Bloomberg both independently said the new iPad will sport a quad-core chip (also, we found quad-core chip references in iOS 5.1 beta code), The Verge reported the iPad 3 will feature an enhanced dual-core chip that sports an improved graphics engine. Seemingly affirming the report is a purported photo of an iPad 3 logic board that appeared just a few days ago. That board includes an A5X processora name that indicates a halfway jump from the A5 dual-core chip to the rumored quad-core A6 chip. Backing that is the Apple iOS device processor-naming scheme. As we noted in our summary of the A5X processor photo:
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Apple working on enhanced A5 chip (A5X) AND completely new chip (A6)
Mark Gurman Apple Inc iOS Devices Discussion (45)
inShare18
February 26, 2012 at 12:29 pm 
Apples new iPad processor will likely offer improved gaming performance
The original iPads A4 chip was called S5L8930X, the iPad 2′s A5 chip was called the S5L8940X, and now this A5X chip is labeled as S5L8945X. Notice the jump of 10 in the labeling on the A4 to A5, and notice the jump of only 5 on the A5 to A5X. The 5 would note a half-way upgrade, something that an A5X chip with improved graphics, but still dual-core processing, would be likely referred to as.
Going by this naming scheme, the next major iOS device processor revamp (A6, not A5X) would be called the S5L8950X. Now, we discovered evidence to support Apple is working on that specific chip. Deep in the iOS 5.1 betas (as shown below) sits references to two next-generation iOS device chips: the previously discussed S5L8945X and this new S5L8950X. While nobody found the 50X (A6) chip in the code until now, we can report that both next-generation processors entered the iOS code simultaneously. This would seem to indicate Apple is working on two next-generation chips.
Thanks, iH8Sn0w!
From here, speculation about why Apple has two next-generation chips in the code can be endless. Here are some purely speculative possibilities:- Apple developed both chips simultaneously to see which would better fit the new iPad.
- The quad-core A6 is for the iPad 3. Meanwhile, the A5X is for rumored Apple TV update, the next-generation iPhone, or another iOS device
- Apple will sell a cheaper iPad with the A5X chip, while the higher-end iPad 3 has the A6.
- The rumored 8-inch iPad has the A5x processor
