No A6 Chip for iPad Until June 2012 at the Earliest?

a5 ipad 2A pair of reports from July and earlier this month had claimed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun trial production of Apple's next-generation A6 system-on-chip, with the latter report claiming that the design would be "publicly unveiled" in the second quarter of 2012 at the earliest.

While Apple has only released two generations of the iPad so far, the company has initially appeared to be interested in a yearly update cycle for the device, but the claimed A6 timeline suggested that Apple might be hard-pressed to stick to a March-April release for the iPad 3 should it be based on the A6. But given that April is indeed the beginning of the second quarter, the company could sneak in with its next yearly iPad update if "publicly unveiled" were to refer to a launch inside the next iPad.

CNET now reports, however, that Linley Group analyst Kevin Krewell has issued a research note claiming that full production of the A6 won't begin before the second quarter of 2012, pushing the release of any A6-based hardware out to at least June.

"A final version of the chip will enter production in 2Q12 'at the earliest'... We believe this timing makes sense," Krewell said. "This pace would make the A6 one of the first 28 [nanometer] mobile processors (along with Qualcomm's MSM8960) to enter production. This schedule, however, breaks Apple's annual processor-upgrade cycle and will delay any products using the A6 until at least June 2012."

The report also notes that Apple's A6 chip is expected to sport a quad-core processor and will use "3D" transistor technology analogous to the Tri-Gate technology being used by Intel for its chips.

The rumored A6 is a major step-up in chip design. Not only does it contain four processor cores (the existing Apple A5 has two cores) but will use so-called 3D technology, Linley Group senior analyst Kevin Krewell said this week in a research note, citing a report in the Taiwan Economic News. The 3D tech is roughly analogous to Intel's 3D technology announced in May.

Apple had been rumored to be trying to release an upgraded iPad sometime before the end of 2011, reportedly with a "Retina" display sporting higher resolution than the current iPad. But last week, a report claimed that Apple had pushed back those plans due to difficulty with production on the displays. Days later, The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Apple was working on a new iPad for "early 2012".

Krewell suggests that Apple could release an A5-powered iPad 3 at that time, relying on the upgraded display to drive customer demand. An A6-powered iPad would then come later, although it seems unlikely that Apple would want to wait until 2013 to release an iPad based on the chip.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
Related Forum: iPad

Top Rated Comments

alent1234 Avatar
160 months ago
Quad core will be a huge leap. Console like graphics in gaming would be possible and the inclusion of retina will only accentuate this significant advancement in technology.

now they just need to make console like games
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
160 months ago
Not surprising. 32nm and 28nm nodes have been a mess for TSMC.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PJMAN2952 Avatar
160 months ago
Okay here is a lesson for all of us. If you keep on waiting for something good to come out in tech related, you will never get it. So just get the iPad 2 and be happy about it. If you are waiting for like iPad 4 or something, that's ridiculous.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nesto Avatar
160 months ago
The report also notes that Apple's A6 chip is expected to sport a quad-core processor and will use "3D" transistor technology analogous to the Tri-Gate (https://www.macrumors.com/2011/05/04/intels-ivy-bridge-platform-to-utilize-3-d-transistors/) technology being used by Intel for its chips.

Too many analysts are making this error, Intel's tri-gate is a 3D TRANSISTOR technology. TSMC is NOT implementing anything like a tri-gate transistor at 28nm. They WILL be using 3D ROUTING technology (TSV - through silicon vias) - a VERY different technology than trigate transistors. One which is not particularly leading edge BTW.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BC2009 Avatar
160 months ago
Probably with the iPad 3 which was intended for 2012 at the earliest anyway.

Don't get me wrong. I own an iPad 2 and I would have been delighted if Apple released an iPad 3 this year, but nothing about those rumors seemed realistic.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
160 months ago
How does 2nd quarter mean June?

2nd quarter is April 1 - June 30.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
12

Apple to Launch Two iPad Air and Two OLED iPad Pro Models Early Next Year

Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:53 am PST by
To boost falling iPad sales, Apple has a major refresh planned for the iPad lineup in early 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple plans to debut new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, both of which will feature notable changes. The iPad Air will come in two sizes like the iPad Pro for the first time. The smaller model will continue to measure in at 10.9 inches, but the larger version...
New iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Release Notes: All New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday December 6, 2023 7:17 am PST by
Apple has shared the full release notes for iOS 17.2, which is in the final stage of beta testing and should be released to the public next week. iOS 17.2 includes a long list of new features and changes, including a Journal app, spatial video recording on iPhone 15 Pro models, several improvements to the Messages and Weather apps, a Favorite Songs playlist in Apple Music, and more. iOS...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...