Processors

We learn a little more about the Apple processor inside the iPhone 5 every day. Today, the focus is the graphics processing unit.

UMB TechInsights has looked inside the chip, and review site Anandtech has followed up with an analysis claiming a 3-core GPU, which is likely a PowerVR SGX 543MP3 running at 266MHz, according to the chip-review site.

All of this makes for a fast A6 chip. Preliminary benchmarks show roughly twice the performance of Apple's A5.

Note that though the A5X chip in the third-generation iPad has a quad-core GPU (one more GPU core than the A6), … Read more

The iPhone 5 is a departure in many respects from the 4S, including easier screen replacement and a retro unibody back design, according to iFixit.

The teardown and repair site is in Melbourne, Australia, has taken the apart the new iPhone. And UMB TechInsights has done its own teardown, focusing on Apple's new A6 chip.

Key differences as cited by iFixit:… Read more

Intel is going to kick off the season of the Windows 8 tablet by hosting an event next week attended by virtually all of the major PC players.

The September 27 event will highlight products using Intel's "Clover Trail" Z2760 (PDF) power-efficient system-on-a-chip (SoC) processor.

"A media event to showcase the latest Intel-based tablet and tablet convertibles, and announce details about the next generation Intel Atom processor (formerly code-named 'Clover Trail')," Intel said in a note sent out to journalists.

Intel's Erik Reid, general manager of Application Processor Platforms in the Mobile and Communications … Read more

A preliminary analysis puts the iPhone 5's cost at $199, slightly more than the iPhone 4S.

The virtual teardown by IHS iSuppli puts the bill of materials, or BOM, at $199 for the low-end model with 16GB of NAND flash memory.

After factoring in the $8 manufacturing cost, the cost to produce the phone increases to $207, iSuppli said.

The BOM jumps to $209 for the 32GB version of the phone and $230 for the high-end 64GB version, the market researcher said.

"The iPhone 5's components are expected to be slightly more expensive compared to the iPhone … Read more

With signs that Apple has designed one of the fastest smartphone chips yet, Intel is getting set to rev up its smartphone silicon in 2013.

Performance benchmark site Geekbench is already showing the iPhone 5's dual-core A6 central processing unit (CPU) with roughly twice the performance of the A5 chips in the iPhone 4S and third-generation iPad. And Geekbench also has the A6 edging out the quad-core chip in Samsung's Galaxy S III.

And there may be a quad-core Apple A series chip in the works for 2013, according to Linley Gwennap, the principal analyst at The Linley … Read more

How did Apple arrive at the A6 chip in the iPhone 5? A longtime chip analyst documents the long and winding road.

While endorsing a report that the A6 is a unique Apple design, Linley Gwennap, who heads The Linley Group, a chip consultancy, posted a brief history of the A6's chip estimated $500-million-plus development effort in a research note on Saturday.

Some of the history has been documented before, but other parts are not as well known.

Gwennap's firm is the publisher of the Microprocessor Report and it frequently holds conferences on mobile chips.

Here are some … Read more

The iPhone 5's A6 processor appears to be roughly twice as fast as any chip in an existing iOS product, if results posted by Geekbench prove to be accurate.

The results show a score of 1,601, beating the dual-core A5 and A5X processors in the iPhone 4s and third-generation iPad (Retina), respectively.

Previous benchmarks of the Retina iPad show a score of 794 (iPad with 3G/4G). The iPhone 4S posted a score of 631.

If these iPhone 5 benchmarks are legitimate, they would match Apple's claims. "With the new A6 chip, just about everything you … Read more

The iPhone 5 sports 1GB of system memory, twice the amount of the iPhone 4S, a chip review site claims.

And it's faster too, said Anandtech in a post on Saturday.

"Roughly 33 percent more peak memory bandwidth than the iPhone 4S, which can definitely help feed the faster [graphics processing unit] and drive the higher resolution display," Anandtech said.

So, how does Anandtech know this? Apple did not hide the markings (see image above) at the Wednesday event, which revealed a Samsung -- manufacturer of the A6 -- part number.

We'll know for sure that … Read more

Apple's chip investments may have borne native fruit with the A6.

The iPhone 5's A6 may be more of an Apple creation than previous A series chips, according to an updated post by review site Anandtech.

Like Qualcomm, Apple is incorporating more of its in-house expertise into chips. And that means it's getting further away from pure ARM designs. For example, the latest design from U.K.-based ARM is the Cortex A15, which Texas Instruments is using in future chips.

But Apple isn't going that route, according to Anandtech. And that means that past Apple … Read more