iPad CPU may find its way into next-gen iPhone

ARE YOU SERIOUS? The iPhone 3GS already has overheating problems. They should put an A4 M or something in there.

Are you saying after paying 200 something million dollars for PA Semi, Apple might use it in more than one product and stop buying competing chips from third party chip makers? I would never have figured that out! Thanks.

I'm actually amazed they managed to get 10 hours of video playing on a device that thin. The iPhone/iPod Touch won't consume that much of power since they have smaller screens, and they won't use up all the horsepower on daily tasks.

I would take a wild guess that, if Apple decides to put A4 in the fourth generations of iPhone and iPod Touch, it will be underclocked to a degree that the devices can handle 3d games no worse than iPhone 3GS but not significantly better than it either like we saw on the iPad keynote either. Support for 720p H.264 main profile won't be there either I think.

The key feature to their success this year would be multitasking, I don't think they can sell as many iPads, iPhones G4 and iPod touch G4 this year as before if multitasking didn't make it into iPhone OS 4.0.

I may be out of my depth here, but isn't comparing the clock speed of two different chips kind of pointless and irrelevant? ie: Intel vs. AMD, PowerPC vs Intel, etc.

On another note concerning battery life, I think we'll find that this thing is half battery once someone (ifixit or whatever) has the chance to crack it open, which would explain the 10hr battery life more than it would the power saving nature of the CPU.

I'd make no wagers on which chip will hit the next iPhone.

The variables are size, power consumption, and performance. If Apple's own chips don't yet fit the bill, they'll have no problem going to an external vendor.

Apple will only switch for a chip that better serves their overall goals.

Regarding cameras: I'd much rather have a better sensor than than either an LED "flash" (which is next to useless) or a crappy high-megapixel sensor.

I'd be extremely happy with a 2 MP sensor with great low-light sensitivity and a great lens. Sadly, virtually all of the component offerings are designed to be cheap, not good: "5 MP for $3.25 each (qty 1MM)"

Based on the underclocked numbers stated in the article, the new chip would be less of an upgrade than the 3G to 3GS cycle:

600 ÷ 412 = 1.46
850 ÷ 600 = 1.42

I doubt very much that the A4 will find it's way into an iPhone. That mostly due to rumors indicating that PA was split in two to do iPhone and tablet chips. Further A4 likely has features that don't make sense in an iPhone, combine that with Apples interest in lowering hardware costs, you thus end up with an iPhone tailored chip.

Still that chip has the potential to be very powerful and very low power. I could see Apple coming close to doubling performance again with an extension in battery lifetimes. In fact I'm so excited that I'm milking my 3G so that it will be easy to move to the next iPhone rev. I believe it will be a big jump forward again.

Now what will that chip be called, I'm with the others thinking A2. I'm also thinkng there might be an indication there with respect to the number of cores. Well we can be hopeful. It will be most interesting to see the next rev iPhone and iPad teardowns side by side. I just have this feeling that Apple will end up with more of the iPhone in the SoC than the IPad integrates it's features. Outside of the iPhone this could make for one interesting iPod Touch too. The higher integration of common features just means more room for features outside of the SoC.

Dane

God, I hope so. I held off on buying the 3GS and stuck with my 2008 3G. I want a major upgrade with screaming speed in 2010. C'mon, Summer!

My wish list - a 4th-gen iPhone with the following:
- 1GHz chip
- Flash support
- 8MP camera (but I'll settle for 5MP) with flash zoom capability
- 4" AMOLED display (more energy efficient, plus allows for larger battery)
- Android 2.1 (just kidding ;-))
- support for WiMax 4G networks (in other words, a break from AT&T exclusivity)
- bigger, better speakers
- HD radio tuner

Reality - the next iPhone:
- 1GHz chip possible, but will probably be underclocked to 800 MHz
- no Flash (Apple will never allow Hulu to cut into its iTunes sales)
- 3 or 4MP camera, no flash, no zoom
- 3.5" LCD display (no different than the current one - Apple would much rather make you get an iPad)
- 3G only (4G networks just haven't matured enough, and are too unpredictable)
- same speakers (can't have customers stop paying extra for accessories, can we?)
- No radio tuner of any kind, unless it takes you right to iTunes to pay for a song if you like it

Is there confirmation anywhere from Apple that the A4 runs the ARM Instruction Set? It's a pretty reasonable assumption but I have not seen anything official.