Preliminary teardowns of Apple 's iPhone 4S confirmed what rumors have claimed for months: The new smartphone is powered by the same dual -core processor used in the iPad 2.
Two teams - one from iFixit, the other from IHS iSuppli - have taken apart the new handset and Their published results.
The iPhone 4S relies on the Apple -designed, dual -core application processor A5, the which is based on ARM 's Cortex - A9 architecture, said iSuppli. That processor first made an appearance last March in Apple 's iPad 2.
The A5 shows Apple is intent on continuing the practice it introduced last year, it used the A4 Pls processors - the A5 's predecessor - first in the original iPad, then Several months later in the iPhone 4.
Markings on the A5 strongly indicate 4S That the iPhone uses 512MB of system memory, iFixit and iSuppli said.
" How do We know it 's 512? Check out the marking, specifically ' E4E4, ' denoting two 2Gb LPDDR2 die - for a total of 4Gb - or 512, " said in notes accompanying its iFixit teardown.
Talk circulated Earlier Had the iPhone 4S That Might offer 1GB of system memory, double 4 That of the iPhone and the iPad 2.
That said iSuppli showed the 512MB Apple 's confidence in its IOS mobile operating system.
" The use of this low density of memory highlights the efficiency of Apple 's IOS operating system, compared to Those of competitive smartphones, the which use twice as much SDRAM, " iSuppli said in a statement attributed to a senior analyst Wayne Lam. " This lowers the cost of this memory subsystem, leading to the Greater design economy relative to alternative phones. "
Other experts added That mobile hardware sticking to 512MB of system memory also benefits the iPhone 4S ' battery life.
" There are also potential concerns with larger battery life DRAMs: More room for apps to Remain resident in memory leaves more DRAM cells to refresh, the which Impacts power consumption, " said the AnandTech website today.
That the iFixit observed inside the iPhone 4S battery is rated at 5.3Wh ( Watt - hour) capacity, slightly more than the 5.25Wh of the batteries used in Both the AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 models of 2010 and early 2011.
Also inside the iPhone 4S is a multi -network baseband processor - the silicon That lets the smartphone the make and take calls - iFixit and iSuppli said.
" The iPhone 4S merges the capabilities of HSPA and CDMA radio found separately in the two previous iPhone 4 models into a single product That can address the global wireless networks, making it a world phone, " said iSuppli. " No other handset OEMs produces a single device for multiple operators and for multiple geographies on this scale. "
During the unveiling of the iPhone 4S last week, Apple also touted the new handset as a "world phone" Because the same model can be used on Both GSM -and CDMA - based networks.
Had Lam of iSuppli predicted the phone world last spring based on the appearance of a Qualcomm baseband processor in the Verizon iPhone 4.
At That time, Lam also said That the Verizon iPhone 4 pointed to a Likely recycling of the internal design in the next model. "Apple Should Be Able to retain about 95% of the design of the CDMA iPhone [ in its next-generation devices, " said Lam in February.
Although Apple made multiple changes to the iPhone 4S - Among Them Replacing last year 's 5- megapixel camera with an 8- megapixel camera - According to iFixit, the similarities the between the new phone and the iPhone 4 outnumber the differences.
4S The iPhone went on sale today at Apple 's retail stores other outlets in the U.S., the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Japan. Although lines formed at some locations, supplies Appeared to be sufficient to meet demand.
source: http://www.computerworld.com
