Query: Who makes the Apple-branded chip in the iPhone? Answer: Samsung. This nontrivial detail translated into smartphone chip market share gains for Samsung in the second quarter, according to iSuppli.
Apple iPhone market share gains drove Samsung chip rise.
(Credit: Apple)The iPhone, largely due to the popularity of the 3GS model, accounted for 13.9 percent of global smartphone shipments in the second quarter, up from 10.1 percent in the first quarter, according to iSuppli. As a result, Samsung accounted for 15.9 percent of global revenue from sales of standalone applications processors. An applications processor is roughly analogous to the main Intel or Advanced Micro Devices processor in a PC: it is basically the brains of a smartphone.
Samsung's market share was up nearly 1 percent from the first quarter, iSuppli said, though it still trailed No. 1 supplier Texas Instruments. iSuppli defines a "standalone" applications processor as digital signal- or logic-based processors not integrated with the digital baseband function.
"Since the introduction of the first (iPhone) in January 2007, Samsung has occupied the key applications processor slot in Apple's iPhone line," Francis Sideco, principal analyst of wireless communications for iSuppli, said in a statement. "With the new 3GS model allowing the iPhone to gain share in the smartphone market, Samsung also is claiming a larger portion of standalone applications processor shipments."
As with previous iPhone models, the 3GS--introduced in June--integrates a Samsung processor based on the ARM architecture. The processor accounted for $14.46, or 8.4 percent, of the materials cost of the iPhone 3GS based on pricing in late June, iSuppli said.
"The partnership between Apple and Samsung on the applications processor in the iPhone has been a major coup for Samsung, establishing it as a player in the market and allowing it to challenge the incumbent leader, Texas Instruments," Sideco said.
The big question, however, is how long a good thing will last for Samsung. Sideco added that "there is a lot of speculation as to whether Apple's acquisition of PA Semi will change the parameters of this partnership." Apple announced its purchase of PA Semi in March 2008.
One of the most rapidly circulating rumors has Apple using a PA Semi design in the upcoming Apple tablet. The latest word is that the screen size is about 10 inches diagonally, meaning that a tablet will require more processor and graphics horsepower than a smaller device like the iPhone.
Although Texas Instruments lost some share to Samsung in the second quarter, the U.S. chip giant retained its dominant position in the market, with a share of 24.4 percent. "Texas Instruments continues to lead the market on the strength of its Open Multimedia Application Platform (OMAP) line of applications processors," Sideco said.
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?
Texas Instruments sent out a little reminder on Monday that it won't be a cakewalk into the smartphone market for newcomers Intel and Nvidia.
While Intel announced LG Electronics as its first smartphone customer and Nvidia hawks its initial mobile phone technology platforms to prospective customers, TI continues to upgrade its arsenal of ARM-design-based processors, which have been shipping for years to cell phone customers. (Samsung and Palm--and the latter's newest Palm Pre--are among TI's customers.)
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, TI announced a new OMAP 4 mobile chip platform that will allow smartphones to do 1080p video record and playback and integrate 20-megapixel cameras. TI claims the OMAP 4 will deliver 10-times-faster Web page loading times, more than 7 times higher computing performance, and 10 times better graphics performance than its current OMAP processors.
The OMAP 4 processor is based on the dual-core ARM Cortex A9 MPCore supporting symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) and capable of speeds of more than 1GHz per core, according to TI. Basic ARM processor designs are licensed by U.K.-based ARM Holdings to companies like Texas Instruments and Qualcomm that tweak the design and then manufacture the chip.
OMAP 4 platform and development tools are expected to sample in the second half of 2009, with production expected by the second half of 2010.
TI also said Monday that it is adding to the OMAP 3 family with silicon based on 45-nanometer processor technology. (Intel is also using 45-nanometer manufacturing technology for its upcoming Moorestown smartphone chip.)
The OMAP36x series will run at speeds up to 1GHz, offer a dedicated graphics hardware accelerator for 3D gaming, and support 720p high-definition video recording and playback and 12-megapixel cameras.
The silicon is scheduled to sample in the third quarter.
AMD is doing something Intel can't do: compete in the massive mobile phone market. AMD processors and mobile graphics technology were disclosed at the 2008 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday.
AMD Imageon chip and concept device
(Credit: AMD)The Imageon A250 applications processor is used for video recording/playback and photo imaging, among other applications, and can be programmed for multimedia and high-level graphics, referred to as vector graphics.
The Imageon D160 mobile TV solution is a hardware and software package that allows mobile phone makers to receive over-the-air broadcast TV signals in a USB-powered device. The chipmaker also introduced the Imageon M210 audio processor for high-definition audio.
AMD is also offering graphics technology separately. The company's Z460 3D graphics taps into the same patented AMD Unified Shader Architecture that provides a graphics platform for the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game system, AMD said. Shaders are used for rendering 3D objects. AMD Z180 graphics technology is targeted at navigational systems and portable devices designed to handle animation, mapping, and Flash-style content. The Z180 features a native hardware-accelerated vector graphics solution, designed to render graphics between 20 and 40 times faster than software-based solutions.
The Imageon technology announced in Barcelona is a refresh of technology announced about a year ago, said AMD spokesperson Jo Albers, and came to AMD when it purchased ATI Technology back in 2006. AMD's strategy in this respect has differed dramatically from Intel's. The latter offloaded its handheld processor business to Marvell Technology around the same time that AMD purchased ATI. Intel is now trying to get back into the ultramobile game with Silverthorne (due later this year) but that processor, though small and relatively power efficient, is too power-hungry for compact mobile phones (though conceivably Silverthorne could be used in iPhone-like devices).
Imageon chips are currently used in over 50 mobile phones and devices from companies like Motorola, LG, Panasonic, and Samsung. And AMD offers graphics technology to Freescale Semiconductor, Qualcomm, and STMicroelectronics, among others.
The new chips, however, won't appear in products until the end of this year or next year because of the length of the design cycles, AMD said.
In related news, STMicroelectronics is using AMD technology in its application processors. The STMicroelectronics Nomadik STn8820 multimedia application processor is based on an ARM 1176 core and can achieve speeds as fast as 528 MHz. The processor integrates AMD's graphics technology for 2D and 3D applications, STMicro said. More here.
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