The iPhone's secret silicon: A need to know?
The precise specifications for many iPhone chips are murky. Should Apple be more open about its secret ingredients?
We know the precise dimensions of the outside of the iPhone--but what's inside?
(Credit: Apple)Granted, many people don't care about the silicon inside their iPhone. They just want it to work. That said, I think more than a few people would like to see the specifications for the iPhone's core silicon posted on Apple's Web site.
By comparison, take your typical laptop. Prospective buyers are able to see the exact specifications and make an informed buying decision. Though the iPhone isn't offered in different processor SKUs (models) like a laptop, the iPhone comes close to a PC in its capabilities and demands more disclosure.
Nikkei's TechOn Web site takes a stab at what the iPhone's main chip might be--generically referred to as an application(s) processor: "An LSI (large-scale integrated circuit) printed with Apple Inc.'s logo ("339S0036 ARM K4X1G163PC-DGC3") was embedded on the center right of the board. It was assumed to be an application processor with an ARM core. Because it included a letter string beginning with 'K,' it seemed to be manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. of Korea."
Semiconductor Insights is a little more specific, saying it's a "Samsung ARM11-based design."
Here's my point: Am I getting a smartphone with a Samsung, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Freescale, Nvidia or Intel processor? As high-end smartphones proliferate (such as those based on Intel's upcoming "Moorestown" processor), it would be useful to know up front who makes the applications processor and other core silicon and what the rated performance-per-watt of that chip is. And right now, the iPhone is the most prominent high-end smartphone.
Don't think smartphone makers should go down the same path as laptops, which are plastered with Intel, AMD, ATI, Nvidia, and Microsoft stickers? Maybe not. But more about what makes the device tick could only be helpful.
Would anybody else like to know?
Brooke Crothers has served as an editor at large at CNET News, an editor at Dow Jones' Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, and a senior editor at InfoWorld. His CNET blog covers chip technology and computer systems, and how they define the computing experience. He also contributes to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Follow Brooke on Twitter @mbrookec. 
We want to choose next phone not only based on size of keyboard, but also based on how many frequency its SeePU has and how high its front side bus.
Bring it on.
Neither do I.
In any case, picking smartphones simply by basic hardware specs is pretty useless. The architectures are much more varied than computers. What's better: a faster CPU or one that's slightly slower paired with an advanced graphics processor? If Apple decides to design all of its chips in house (acquisition of P.A. Semi, recent defections from AMD), this will make the comparisons even more useless since the competition can't get the same parts.
On a more practical basis, the users interact with the applications. An operating system is a complicated piece of software that lets other complicated pieces of software co-exist peacefully. The overall user experience (hardware, software, services) is how people judge whether or not they are happy, not CPU, front-side bus speeds or benchmark test performance. That's why Apple has the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry.
Judging a phone by raw hardware numbers like CPU speed is like judging an automobile by the number of cup holders it has.
Doesn't mean the competition can't make faster chips.
You still don't get it.
Having the fastest CPU speed ultimately doesn't matter. There are significant differences between RISC and CISC architecture and typical implementation that make MHz comparisons useless (cache sizes, bus width and speed, compiler optimizations, et cetera ad nauseum). That's even before you factor in other hardware like accelerated graphics.
So what if your CPU is faster? What if most of its time is spent spinning around uselessly, waiting for instructions to show up?
Regular users judge their satisfaction by the overall user experience, not by benchmarks or if their device's CPU is 10% faster. They don't run benchmarks on their phones. The true benchmarks are 1.) sales and 2.) "how much do I like my phone?". High scores of #2 basically correlate positively with #1.
@monkeyfun14:
You still don't get it.
Having the fastest CPU speed ultimately doesn't matter. There are significant differences between RISC and CISC architecture and typical implementation that make MHz comparisons useless (cache sizes, bus width and speed, compiler optimizations, et cetera ad nauseum). That's even before you factor in other hardware like accelerated graphics.
So what if your CPU is faster? What if most of its time is spent spinning around uselessly, waiting for instructions to show up?
Regular users judge their satisfaction by the overall user experience, not by benchmarks or if their device's CPU is 10% faster. They don't run benchmarks on their phones. The true benchmarks are 1.) sales and 2.) "how much do I like my phone?". High scores of #2 basically correlate positively with #1."
I agree with your logic but you should never try to reason with a monkey. In the end, all they do is fling pooh at ya'. Sorry, could not resist.
Psh, only the geeks and nerds really care. The only other people are the ones who care about name brand stuff. People buy Vizio TVs when they here that it's made by Sony, and yet I wouldn't by a Sony because they are very expensive for something a little better. I also don't mind buying the $1 butter cookies over some Nabisco or Keebler stuff, as long as I know the cookies taste good. Most typical consumers don't know really anything about computers, especially when it comes to "giger-hurts" and "mega-whats", so why would there care in the least bit in who makes the processor besides maybe for the reputation that company has. Of course, consumers should know what a processor is, otherwise the brand name can be a booby trap to shake down a lot of cash from people.
Enjoy your tap water
but the koolaid packet doesn't have ingredients on it so I still have not clue whats in the koolaid
What it does is based on what's on the inside. What it does for you may actually be different.
If the maker wants to keep some of it's tech a secret for what ever reason, as long as their product delivers and is covered in case it does not, just how many details do we as the end user really need to know. Life is busy enough as it is without taking up time worrying about the internals of every device or machine we buy. I go on 2 things, makers name and therefore a reputation and does it do what it is stated it will do. If those 2 items check out then it is in the running to be bought if needed. Need it, buy it, use it and don't waste time worrying about how it does what it does. I actually like to buy products which do not have advertising splurged all over them. A simple little apple logo works for me and even that is hidden under my i phone cover.
Clean and simple is good!
The 'specs' I normally want to understand about a phone is how much memory (available for me, not 'running' memory for the phone), and the screen resolution.
Sure. And they know what they're buying by knowing what it does. Less than 1% of the audience for these devices even cares what the silcon is; the rest of us use them to get work done.
If you want to wank about comparing chipsets (if it is even possible as custom silicon gets more common in these devices), be my guest. I'll be getting work done.
If I were to buy an iPhone, Blackberry, whatever - bet your ass I'm gonna be looking for some specs!
http://news.cnet.com/Rocky-road-for-car-black-boxes/2009-1041_3-5604449.html
This device can help or hinder you, but you should probalby know it's there.
The "shelf life" of most of these devices (laptop, cell phone) is around 3 years at best, so why the need to replace the chip? There is a difference between "needing" to know, and "wanting" to know.
That says a lot. Everone in my house who doesn't "care" has an iPod. I've got an Archos. Then they ask me "How do I do this and I have to tell them. "You can't you have an iPod". In time they will either get the right tool for the job (which can be an Ipod) they have in mind, or give up expecting much.
If you like your toaster mentality, great. Just don't force it on everyone else. Ignorance is not something to be proud of.
You have so got that backwards, I am well aware of my word definitions, it is you who by your reply have further shot yourself in the foot.Simply looks like you can't accept other people having opinions which differ from yours, without putting those people down, but don't worry there seem to be a lot like you around.
Sure, iPhone is cool now, but wait until "the next best thing" comes out. You'll be stuck with the iPhone because all your media files are encrypted and only work with iTunes.
"It just works" just doesn't work for me.
you could already rip CD's to your iphone, it was always that way
even with the first ipod
Sure, we can "want to know" many details - but the company is under no obligation to provide them.
If you can't bring yourself to buy an iPhone (or anything else), because you don't know enough about what's inside then don't. It's your choice.
I, for one, want to know the ingredients of my food, and appreciate the labeling requirements here in the U.S.
I also want to know certain characteristics of my digital camera's sensor, and the manufacturer makes those details freely available. But I honestly don't care what sort of CPU is in my camera, or if it was made in China from recycled tires. I care that it works well, and I am satisfied with the warranty protection in case it breaks.
Apple will not provide you with the details you demand in this article because it won't sell them a single more phone to do so.
They just work. Seems I've heard that before. And I, like 99% of the planet, don't work in the computer industry. I really wonder if programmers et. al. like the above author will ever realize that. The quality of my life has been changed enormously by apple products. I have spent NOT ONE SECOND in the last eight years dealing with the word virus on my macs. Add up your hours months windows users. My point is just that the overwhelming majority of people don't care to know and IMHO do not and will not use "chipmaker" as part of their buying criteria.
- by dragontsd May 10, 2009 10:52 AM PDT
- I care about what it can do, not what's inside.
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- by tcr071 May 10, 2009 8:35 PM PDT
- How do you know what it can do without knowing what is inside? We are getting to a point where the specs of a device, including the processor speed, are just as important as they are on a laptop or desktop.
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- by capnvan May 11, 2009 4:54 AM PDT
- "Would you buy a laptop without knowing what processor was in it? No way in hell I would."
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- by Renegade Knight May 11, 2009 2:26 PM PDT
- Correction. You care about what does. What it can do is another thing. My touch can do more than Apple lets it do. Turns out they built in bluetooth but I can't use it.
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- by Hep Cat May 11, 2009 3:25 PM PDT
- "How do you know what it can do without knowing what is inside?"
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Showing 1 of 4 pages (128 Comments)Would you buy a laptop without knowing what processor was in it? No way in hell I would.
While I don't doubt your word, I think you'll find that an awful lot of consumers do precisely that. My mother's last laptop purchase was based largely on the 17 inch screen. If you asked her what processor is in that baby, she probably wouldn't even understand the question. And she's not dumb.
I think you'll find that most consumers are a lot more like her than you. They don't care what's inside an iPhone, because that data would be meaningless to them.
Well, most of us use the SDK and the feature list Apple provides, which is as much as you need to know to do sanctioned development on the iPhone.
If you want to know more, it's because you're jailbreaking, which Apple doesn't support, and which will probably cause trouble. So that's why.