Given the new confirmation that Apple has acquired chip design firm Intrinsity, it's interesting to hear that Apple seems to already be using their technology in the iPad under the veil of the "Apple A4" processor. It was previously believed that P.A. Semi might have had a hand in designing the Apple A4 processor that was introduced alongside the iPad, but an IEEE Spectrum article disputes that belief.
According to market analyst Will Strauss, there is no doubt "it's only the Intrinsity folks who could have taken [the iPad's ARM Cortex A8] up to a gigahertz. Period." Strauss is referring to an X-ray examination of the A4 processor which revealed it was a Samsung-manufactured single core ARM Cortex A8 processor. According to Strauss, only Intrinsity could have achieved this for Apple. Now with confirmation of an Apple acquisition of the company, it seems almost certain.
In 2009, Intrinsity had announced a 1GHz "Hummingbird" processor which likely shares the same technology. It is believed that P.A. Semi simply didn't have enough time since their original acquisition to produce the technology for Apple.
The use of Intrinsity's Hummingbird processor technology in the iPad was postulated by forum member retroneo back in March. He even pinpointed the Samsung S5PC110 as the likely design basis for the upcoming iPhone processor. The S5PC110 is a similar 1GHz Cortex A8 processor with POWERVR SGX hardware built in.
"Such an effort is said ... to take billions of dollars". Who says that? Tell me who said it, and I can tell you that someone is a total idiot.
The quote you are struggling to find a name for was, "...up to a billion dollars", not "billions." So any amount UNDER a billion was the amount in the quote, not several billion.
To answer your request for a name: You said it, not someone else. :)
Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by Juli Clover
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
Wednesday April 17, 2024 12:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
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The quote you are struggling to find a name for was, "...up to a billion dollars", not "billions." So any amount UNDER a billion was the amount in the quote, not several billion.
To answer your request for a name: You said it, not someone else. :)