It’s not a surprise. The A5 chip—the brain of the iPhone 4S—is also made by Samsung. But in the current polarized climate of the Apple-Samsung Wars, it’s worth remembering that the show goes on and the new iPhone 5’s brain is made by Samsung too. More »
There’s been a significant mystery lingering around the A6 processor found in the iPhone 5, even as it became clearer that Apple was veering further than usual from the basic ARM formula. A microscope-level inspection by Chipworks and iFixit is at last identifying the key elements of the 32nm, Samsung-assembled chip and revealing just how far it strays from the beaten path. The examination confirms earlier suspicions of a dual-core design with triple-core graphics — it’s how that design is shaped that makes the difference. Apple chose to lay out the two processor cores by hand rather than let a computer do the work, as most ARM partners do. The procedure is expensive and slow, but also gives the A6 a better-optimized design; it explains why the chip is noticeably faster than much of its competition without needing the brute force approaches of higher clock speeds or extra cores. Some mysteries remain, such as the exact PowerVR graphics that are at work, but it’s evident Apple now has the design talent and resources to speed up mobile devices on its own terms rather than wait for off-the-shelf layouts like the Cortex-A15.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple SVP of Marketing Phil Schiller has reportedly responded to a customer complaint regarding the scratching border of a black and slate iPhone 5, via an email received by 9to5Mac this morning. Schiller apparently responded to concerns by pointing out that aluminum is naturally subject to scratches, and that minor chips over time are to be expected with the iPhone 5′s construction materials.
9t05Mac received the complete email, and verified the headers to make sure that it was indeed a legitimate email coming from the Apple exec. The body of the email from Schiller reads:
Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color. That is normal.
As we reported yesterday, aluminum is relatively soft, especially compared to glass, and will scratch more easily than more durable materials. If you have an iPad or MacBook Air/Pro, you can probably personally attest to aluminum’s susceptibility to surface scratches. One of the big problems appears to be that Apple has opted to use aluminum with a black surface coating on the darker iPhone 5 model, leading to higher visibility of scratches as the aluminum’s natural color shows through when it’s damaged.
The use of aluminum has a pretty considerable upside, however, since drop tests have generally shown that it’s far more resistant to significant damage from taking tumbles. Dings and dents are one thing, but a shattered back is something that’s hard to come back from, at least barring expensive repairs. Really, Schiller is just pointing out the obvious, but this is the first comment we’ve seen about the issue from Apple leadership.
We’ve reached out to Apple for additional comment and will update if they provide any.
Apple has quietly launched an in-store reservations system for the iPhone 5, allowing eager would-be owners to pre-purchase the iOS 6 smartphone and then collect it at their local Apple Store the following day. The new reservations system is active between 10pm and 4am each day, and lets existing subscribers check their upgrade status as well as signing up new users.
The system is a workaround for the lengthy shipping wait-times for online orders, which – if you order today – won’t now ship out for 3-4 weeks. Demand for home delivery shot up almost as soon as Apple opened preorders, with availability in the US and internationally significantly constrained.
A similar reservations system is already operational in the UK, though there payments don’t take place until the customer is actually at the store. Apple retail in the UK sells unlocked, SIM-free devices as well as those with carrier subsidies, and that is where the demand has focused; carrier stores in the UK often have iPhone 5 stock, and a check with one of Apple’s flagship London, UK stores today confirmed that it, too, had stock available if customers wanted a contract with it.
In the UK, however, the reservations system carries no guarantee of a device. Instead, Apple emails all applicants at roughly 9pm local time, letting them know whether their choice of device will be ready for collection the following day.
There’s more on the iPhone 5 in our full review.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
iPhone 5 reservations system bypasses 3-4 week online delays is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Since the iPhone 5 Lightning adapter has a chip that prevents you from using third-party cables, you can forget about using an inexpensive off-brand dock. And since Apple hasn’t yet released its own branded dock, you’re basically stuck, for now, just plugging the phone into a loose cord. More »
Research firm IHS has followed up its virtual teardown of the iPhone 5 with a brand new physical teardown, confirming its materials list and also the cost of manufacture for the latest Apple smartphone. The physical teardown reveals that the new iPhone costs between $207 and $238, including all suppliers and cost of assembly, depending on whether you look at the 16GB, 32GB or 64GB model.
That means that margins for Apple are between $442 and $611, not counting expenditures related to shipping, marketing, retail and other overhead. Apple’s margins are actually improved on high-end devices according to IHS, while lower-end iPhone 5s actually cost a little bit more to make than their predecessors did at launch.
The relatively unchanged margins are impressive, given that according to the teardown, the new iPhones have double the RAM, more expensive, larger in-cell displays, an improved processor and beefed up cameras and cellular wireless chips. To compensate for those increased costs, however, Apple has managed to get lower pricing on batteries and Wi-Fi radio, and NAND flash storage prices, traditionally one of the most expensive components, has actually halved.
Sandisk is the iPhone 5′s key vendor for flash memory, according to IHS, which marks a first, since IHS has found Samsung memory in past devices. Sony providing the battery and camera modules, Samsung delivering the processor and Qualcomm providing the wireless baseband processor.
Apple leads the smartphone industry in profit margins, which has helped it take up to 77% of total profit among smartphone vendors according to some recent estimates. That’s unlikely to change much with the iPhone 5 and the latest generation of devices coming from Samsung and others, if IHS’s teardown is an accurate estimate of what Apple’s making on the sale of each iPhone 5.
Google is yet to prepare a version of Google Maps for iOS 6, with chairman Eric Schmidt saying it was up to Apple whether the iPhone 5 and other devices would get a new version of the mapping app. Speaking in Japan, Schmidt said that Google would “welcome” Apple’s cooperation but said that “we have not done anything yet” to prepare a new version, Bloomberg reports. Google Maps’ disappearance from iOS, replaced by Apple’s homegrown alternative, was fueled by the Cupertino company’s desire to further distance itself from reliance on Google services, insiders claims, rather than out of any specific issues with the app itself.
“We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know?” Schmidt said at the Japanese launch of the Nexus 7, Reuters reports. “I’m not doing any predictions. We want them to be our partner. We welcome that. I’m not going to speculate at all what they’re going to do. They can answer that question as they see fit.”
As Schmidt pointed out, any version of Google Maps for iOS the search company might release would have to be distributed through the App Store, and thus be approved by Apple for inclusion. There are already multiple third-party options for mapping and navigation, and indeed Apple is relying on some of those for delivering mass transit directions which are not currently provided in the first-gen Maps release.
Schmidt did not say whether Google would begin development of a new Google Maps for iOS app speculatively, or if it would wait until it had confirmation that Apple would welcome the addition of such software to the App Store. As it is, iOS 6 users who still want Google Maps must now use the browser-based version, though there are hacks-in-progress which are attempting to run the old app in the new OS version.
Meanwhile, Apple itself has defended Maps, arguing that it is “just getting started” and that improvements are being quietly rolled out server-side daily. The company is believed to be aggressively recruiting former Google Maps staff in an attempt to accelerate its version.
Google Maps for iOS 6 on ice until Apple invitation says Schmidt is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
One of the reasons Apple’s supply of iPhone 5 devices couldn’t meet the opening weekend demand may be due to its decision to use thinner touchscreens vs. previous generations, which combine touch sensor and glass together in one. The tech in question is coming from just two suppliers at the moment, LG Display and Japan Display, and according to some, that’s leading to a shortfall in production numbers.
Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes said in a research note (via Bloomberg) on Monday that the supply issue could be helped by adding Sharp to the list of suppliers for the in-cell displays, but that the Japanese LCD supplier is having trouble getting production quality to where it should be in terms of reducing defects in new screens. Sharp was unable to begin shipping the screens ahead of the iPhone 5′s debut, Barclays claims.
IHS senior analyst Tom Dinges also told Bloomberg that supply constraints were a likely source of problems for Apple during opening weekend, but noted that that’s a very good problem to have. And Barclays anticipates that it will get better, with estimates of iPhone sales around 45.2 million for the December quarter, and 170.7 million for the iPhone 5′s first year on the market.
There’s also reason to believe that supply constraints could actually be a boon to Apple’s long-term financial performance. Analyst Rob Chira noted before the iPhone 5′s release this month that Apple’s stock has actually performed 2.2 times better in a quarter after official word of supply constraint has come from the company itself. That’s exactly what Apple did on Monday in its press release, with CEO Tim Cook providing a statement saying the company is working hard to meet demand but faces challenges in doing so. Chira saw the in-cell displays, as well as Qualcomm’s 28-nanometer baseband chip as potential weak areas in terms of supply volume, and Qualcomm has said that supplies of that part could be limited as it introduces new manufacturing processes.
So far, Apple’s stock is down, sitting at around $687 in aftermarket trading this morning ahead of the bell. But it could rebound easily once analysts get over the fact that opening weekend sales didn’t meet a lot of analyst expectations, and imagine what kind of numbers Apple can put up once it gets past initial supply constraint issues. We’ve reached out to Apple for more on what’s keeping initial supply of devices under demand, and will update if we hear back.
Update: Apple got back to us and said they had “nothing to add” to yesterday’s official press release when it comes to iPhone 5 supply constraints.
Selling 5 million iPhone 5s in the first weekend of availability certainly sounds like a win. Apple sold roughly 1 million more iPhone 5s in its first weekend of availability compared to the number of iPhone 4S’ that Cupertino sold in that smartphones first weekend of availability. Despite moving 5 million units the first weekend, the iPhone 5 fell short of some analyst estimates.
BusinessWeek reports that supply constraints delayed shipments meaning Apple’s newest smartphone missed estimates put forth by some analysts. Apple has admitted that demand for the new smartphone was higher than availability of the device leading to delays of some early online orders. Shares in Apple stock declined, reports BusinessWeek, due to concern that supply constraints could hamper Apple’s ability to outpace rivals such as Samsung.
Analysts are concerned because the iPhone represents about two-thirds of Apple’s profits and is a crucial product for the company. Analyst Brian White from Topeka Capital Markets had said that he expected Apple to sell 6 to 6.5 million units, excluding Internet purchases that haven’t been shipped, in the opening weekend. He believes that Apple falling short of his estimates has to do with supply constraints rather than demand.
Apple stock shares fell 1.3% to trade at $690.79 at the close of trading. However, Apple stock has still gained 71% this year. Apple doesn’t figure Internet orders into its sales totals until the phones are delivered. That means that the presumably massive number of sales made online during the opening weekend that weren’t delivered aren’t counted in Apple’s 5 million unit record weekend. Analyst Brian Marshall from ISI Group expects that counting orders in transit right now, Apple moved 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 units.
[via BusinessWeek]
iPhone 5 falls short of analyst estimates despite massive sales is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Despite five million units being sold in three days, Bloomberg is claiming that demand for the iPhone 5 has been outstripping supply because of a shortage of the ultra-thin display units used in the new phone. More »
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