a5

Inside the iPhone 5

With anticipation for Apple's iPhone 5 (or whatever branding is ultimately used) extremely high, most of the focus has been, not surprisingly, on design and timing. But what will make the iPhone 5 tick? That's the question I asked a couple of experts.

The upcoming phone is expected to pack Apple's latest and greatest A5 silicon, a Qualcomm 3G chip, and circuits that support a higher-resolution camera.

A5 chip: The Apple A5 houses the main processor--or so-called application processor--that will power the phone. The A5 (technically a system-on-a-chip or SoC) is the same chip that currently powers the iPad 2. The A5 distinguishes itself from the older A4, used in the iPhone 4, by having two processor cores (the A4 has one) and faster graphics circuits. Two cores allow the device--like the iPad 2--to multitask better than a single-core phone.

"It's liable to be the A5," said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts, a company that tracks the phone chip market. But Strauss expects the chip to be a variation of the A5 in the iPad 2. "It's a geometric shrink of the A5. The geometries (size of the chip) will be smaller," he said. … Read more

iPhone 5 to stick with smaller screen size?

Recent rumors about the iPhone 5 have claimed that Apple would bump up the screen size to at least 4 inches, but a story from DigiTimes offers a contrary take.

Citing sources from "upstream panel suppliers," DigiTimes rebuts the claims that the iPhone would sport a 4.2-inch screen size, which it says sprang from a leak from Apple's Web site in Switzerland early this month. Alleged design specs for iPhone 5 cases even prompted MacRumors to create some mockups of the new phone showing off a 4-inch screen.

But DigiTimes' sources say the iPhone 5 won'… Read more

As Apple seeks new chip suppliers, theories abound

With Apple seeking to lessen its dependency on Samsung as a processor supplier, a number of chip-supplier scenarios are emerging for Apple's next generation of devices.

Amid serious legal squabbling with Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is likely to be the first to capture Apple's new business. But Intel, which already makes all of Apple's desktop and laptop processors, is also in the running for other devices.

TSMC scenario: TSMC may first appear, in the fourth quarter, as a second-source supplier of the A5 processor, according to Gus Richard, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, who wrote … Read more

Report: Apple launching new iPhone in September

Apple will unveil its next model iPhone in September with a faster chip and a more advanced camera, Bloomberg said today, citing information from "people familiar with the plans."

Adding fuel to the latest fires about the next-generation iPhone, Bloomberg said the new phone will come equipped with an A5 processor, which Apple already added to the iPad 2 earlier in the year. Other reports have also pointed to the speedy, dual-core A5 as the chip that would power the new iPhone.

The next iPhone would also include an 8-megapixel camera, according to Bloomberg, a healthy leap from … Read more

A MacBook with Apple inside? Intel begs to differ

Rumors about Apple developing a MacBook with one of its own chips--not Intel's--were advanced on Friday, based on a post at a Japanese-language Web site. An Intel executive had some thoughts on the subject.

Let's get right to the post on the Japanese Web site Macotakara Kanteidan about the rumored MacBook Air test vehicle packing a Thunderbolt port. In a Japanese-language post entitled "Is an A5-equipped MacBook Air being tested?" the site claims that "according to someone who has seen a model running with [Apple's] A5 processor, the performance is better than had been thought."

Assuming the report is credible, that's a pretty big leap from a frantic rumor about Apple "dumping Intel" to a real system running on the A5, the Apple-branded chip--based on an ARM design--that's used in the iPad 2.

To date, Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air has run exclusively on Intel processors. And that's expected to continue when Apple announces new Airs based on Intel's "Sandy Bridge" processors this summer, based on my own sources who are familiar with Apple's plans.

I asked Intel's marketing chief Tom Kilroy about this latest report early today.… Read more

Analysts: Intel seeks chip business at Apple

Amid serious legal squabbling between Apple and Samsung, Intel may have an opportunity to land Apple as a chip customer, according to analysts.

''Based on a number of inputs, we believe Intel is...vying for Apple's foundry business,'' wrote Gus Richard, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co., in a research note, according to a report in EE Times.

Foundry refers to contract manufacturing. Samsung is currently the foundry for Apple's A4 and A5 processors, which are used in the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

This may be a golden opportunity for Intel, according to another analyst. "Given the strained relationship between Apple and Samsung over IP (intellectual property) issues, there is a window where Intel can become the foundry of choice for Apple," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw, in a phone interview.

Though Intel is relatively new to the foundry business, it already has one customer on record, Achronix Semiconductor. But it also has at least two more confidential customers, according to a source familiar with Intel's foundry business.

That said, gaining Apple as a customer would move Intel into the contract manufacturing big leagues with the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)--also rumored to be a future Apple foundry. In fact, Intel isn't there yet. "It's not the sort of thing that could happen easily or quickly," said the source. … Read more

Report: Apple testing A5 iPhones with game devs

Select iOS application developers have been given versions of the iPhone with Apple's dual-core A5 processor, according to a new report.

Citing an anonymous source, 9to5mac says Apple has given some prominent game developers prototype versions of the iPhone that pack the A5 processor to test their applications. These units are said to be otherwise identical to the current version of the iPhone 4, except for the faster internals.

The A5 processor made its debut within the iPad 2. A successor to the A4 processor, which can be found in the first generation iPad and the iPhone 4, the … Read more

Rumor: Analyst expects A5 and 8MP camera for iPhone 5

Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released a note with details on what to expect in the forthcoming iPhone 5. Juicy features include Apple's A5 processor and a much-improved 8-megapixel rear camera.

According to AppleInsider, Kuo's note says the A5 processor will match the performance of the one currently found in Apple's iPad 2, though no mention of the RAM quantity was made.

"He has also been told that Apple will switch to a Qualcomm baseband for both GSM and CDMA models, along with an improved antenna design."

Echoing other rumors that production on the iPhone … Read more

iPad 2 killer feature: The 2X factor

The iPad 2 is "winning" with two double-your-fun hardware features. Buh-bye iPad 1.

After using the iPad 2 for a few weeks, I can now say the upgrade was worth it. Even waiting in line with the huddled Los Angeles masses, yearning for the iPad 2, was worth it.

Allow me to insert a brief parenthetical by saying I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't mention there's always a psychological need to justify the purchase of a pricey gadget. Not unlike seeking absolution for a sin. That said, I'm pretty sure this review … Read more