Is The “New” iPad 2 Chip A Trial Balloon For The iPhone 5 CPU?
Posted by CharlesMoore on Thursday May 3, 2012 Under iPad 2, iPhone 5 Opinion, iPhone 5 PredictionsFollowing its practice with the iPhone, Apple opted to carry over its previous iPad 2 model at a reduced price as a category entry-level offering selling alongside the New iPad with Retina display.
However, the “new” iPad 2, which is available only in the base, 16 GB WiFi version at $399.00, isn’t quite the direct carry-over it appears to be, and not in just a trivial way.
The big difference between the original iPad 2 and the “new” iPad 2 is in the processor. While both use A5 dual-core CPUs, the currentlly-sold iPad 2 model uses a new, smaller A5 chip rather than the A5 that powered the original version iPad 2. According to a Chipworks blog report, that previous generation A5, part number APL0498, was manufactured on Samsung Semiconductors’ 45 nm LP CMOS process, while this new A5 processor is manufactured using Samsung’s new 32 nm high-k metal gate, gate first, LP CMOS process technology.
However, the New (Retina) iPad’s A5X is still made using the an older 45-nanometer process. That means the entry-level iPad 2 is currently equipped with the most advanced Apple A-Series silicon of any Apple iOS product. Which seems a bit peculiar. I mean, why would Apple bother re-engineering its holdover entry-level tablet to run its most cutting-edge mobile processor chip?
Unless……. the new iPad 2 is being used as a testbed for the CPU that will be used in the next iPhone. That postulate appears to make quite a bit of logical sense. Reportedly, Samsung’s 32nm chip fabrication process has allowed the A5′s physical size to be reduced by 41 percent, which is pretty substantial, and could arguably be a key facilitator in making the next iPhone thinner, while paradoxically packing in a larger display, LTE 4G support, and perhaps NFC electronic credit card support.
Macworld Labs’ James Galbraith reported this week that there is virtually no difference in performance between the 32nm and 45nm iPad 2 A5 CPUs, although unsurprisingly, the New iPad’s A5X chip with its quad-core graphics processing engine was quicker in graphics and Web (also graphics) performance.
However, I think it’s unlikely that Apple will use the A5X in the iPhone 5. The quad-core graphics are mainly dedicated to supporting the iPad’s big Retina display’s prodigious pixel count, which should not be necessary for the iPhone with its smaller screen. However, the iPhone would benefit from the physically smaller chip, which would evidently offer the same computing power with presumably lower power demand and heat-generating capacity.
Another possibility is that the 32nm A5 is being test-vetted for use in a forthcoming iPad mini with a 7-8-inch display, but it could be both rather than either-or.
Now, there are a fair few folks who are hoping for, or even expecting, a quad-core A6 CPU in the next iPhone. They may be right, but I’m skeptical. My considered best guess at this point is that the A6 will first appear in the fourth-generation iPad, probably in March, 2013, and I’m thinking that the CPU for this year’s iPhone release may well be that 32nm A5 powering the revision two iPad 2.
Comments welcome as always.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 4:26 am
if they use A5 again it will be a let down.
Samsung just releasa a quad core 1,4 ghz mobile procesor,and Apple will remain on 1Ghz dual core procesor….
i am a big Apple fanboy.i have an iPhone 4S(after 2G,3G,3GS and i4),an iPad 1,Macbook white 2010,iMac 21,5…i love APPLE but if they realese another minor update to i4S i think i am gone do the untinkable,to buy a Galaxy…
i hope Apple will make us a really big surprise in Octomber.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 5:28 am
I agree with you “cosmin”, but I see that Apple is going very slowly with preference compared to Samsung. If Apple don’t launch in June “New iPhone” many people will pass the Galaxy S3, we want to refresh, speeds and better quality in every new product that comes not with 3.5 inch display that 5 years, my eyes hurts to watched a 3.5 inch iPhone, please Apple ENOUGH wake up and walk with time…
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May 3rd, 2012 at 7:27 am
Today is when GS3 comes out! So we’ll finally know what’s going to compete against Apple.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 am
2 things, this is actually a really good assessment that is probably right. Think about this. That smaller chip would allow more space for the battery to aaccomadate the 4g! 2, what happened to the old post?
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May 3rd, 2012 at 8:07 am
What happened to the blog about ‘something big’ is coming from Apple according to UPS? Guessing its credibility went out the window?
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May 3rd, 2012 at 8:09 am
Great blog, folks! Hope the iPhone comes out in June, because I need a phone. However, I also believe that October is more likely… but who knows.
Btw, Michael Nace’s UPS article disappeared! Can’t find it anymore.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 9:03 am
Re: The Article From Yesterday — The source asked me to take the blog article from yesterday down. Apparently it touched a nerve. I can tell you that the insight the source gave is very real and very germane to the WWDC. UPDATE: I’ve decided to put the article back up, since taking it down will only make people feel as though the story isn’t valid.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 9:06 am
Valtheri : i agree with u.i have 2 friends who sold there iPhones to buy the new Galaxy S3.
a new design…
we need a new procesor,a larger screen,not much larger
i am gone wait till Octomber,but if i see another minor update,i get for me and my wife a Galaxy S3
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May 3rd, 2012 at 9:07 am
The Galaxy S III American variant is only gonna have a dual core not quad core chip. Apple is great at optimizing their software with hardware. I believe the A5X chip in the new iPad will be plenty speedy for the new iPhone.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 10:16 am
As for the chip getting smaller, that is typical for chip makers (I worked semiconductors 20 years before going to aerospace), due to the the increased number of chips they can make per wafer, a known and stable hardware platform (we know what the old chip does, so the new one should do the same, even though it can go faster, due to the decrease in time it takes for the signals to travel, and yes, at that point, and at those speeds, line length and signal propagation is a factor). The good thing is, that when the obstacles overcome in shrinking the chip, newer technology (A6, I hope) can take advantage of it.
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May 3rd, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Why exactly do we need quad core in the iPhone???
I think a bigger battery is more desirable. A beefed up dual core a5 is fine.
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