Among its discoveries, Chipworks found that the A7 chip is manufactured by Samsung, a big win for that firm after rumors surfaced earlier this year that Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC) might win the contract for the new chip. Code discovered in iOS 7 back in July did suggest that Samsung would remain the primary manufacturer for the A7.
Chipworks also found what it believes to be the M7 motion coprocessor, which iFixit dubbed the "magical" chip because it couldn't be found on the logic board during the original teardown. Instead, the M7 is a discrete processor from NXP:
Luckily, we’ve been able to locate the M7 in the form the NXP LPC18A1. The LPC1800 series are high-performing Cortx-M3 based microcontrollers. This represents a big win for NXP. We had anticipated the M7 to be an NXP device based on input from industry analysts and our partners and we are happy to see this to be the case.
The M7 is dedicated to processing and translating the inputs provided to it by the discrete sensors; the gyroscope, accelerometer and electro magnetic compass mounted throughout the main printed circuit board. Traditional Apple techniques lead us to believe that the these discrete sensors will most likely be STMicroelectronics for the accelerometer and the gyroscope while the electro magnetic compass would again be an Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM). We have since confirmed the compass to be AKM’s AK8963.
I hate the fact that samsung is manufacturing this chip. I dont feel comfortable with it...who knows what kind of insight that gives to this lowlife company!
Then you need to grow up. Samsung makes the Retina display, the fastest SSD disks that Apple uses in the MacBook Pro Retina, and makes the best ARM chips in the industry.
If you can't handle that, you're a deluded fanboy, and they're not "a lowlife company." They make good products for those who want to have the best specs over a curated user experience.
Just because we prefer the iPhone does not make it justified to bash a company for making a phone with rounded corners, and especially one that makes 50% of the technology in your beloved Apple devices. Excellent technology, I may add; they're at the top of the industry with hardware. Nobody makes better chips or components than they do.
Cue fanboys who will buy the iPhone despite the fact that it has Samsung-made parts and then bash Samsung endlessly using pejoratives like "Scum$sung" in 3,
I hate the fact that samsung is manufacturing this chip.
I dont feel comfortable with it...who knows what kind of insight that gives to this lowlife company!
Ask any of my friends and family, and they'll confirm that I get angry about many, many stupid things.
Being upset about who fabricates a chip for my smartphone is not even within the realm of possibility of something I could be angry about.
My suggestion is that in order to be able to post something anti-Samsung you have to sign an affidavit pledging that you own nothing with parts made by Samsung. Otherwise, you're just a hypocrite.
Friday February 3, 2023 1:13 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released iOS 16.3 in late January following nearly six weeks of beta testing. The software update is available for the iPhone 8 and newer, and while it is a relatively minor update, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes.
Below, we've recapped new features in iOS 16.3, including support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for...
Saturday February 4, 2023 10:05 am PST by Eric Slivka
Online retailer TigerDirect has slashed pricing on the M1 iPad Air in several colors, offering the base 64GB configuration for just $313.99 in Purple and Pink.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with TigerDirect. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
That's a savings of 48% compared to Apple's normal $599.00...
Apple's next device with an Apple silicon chip may not be a Mac or an iPad, but rather an advanced external display, according to recent reports.
The display, which is rumored to arrive this year, is expected to sit somewhere between the $1,599 Studio Display and the $4,999 Pro Display XDR – but more exact information about the device's positioning and price point is as yet unknown. While ...
Sunday February 5, 2023 6:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has discussed selling a new top-of-the-line iPhone alongside the Pro and Pro Max models in 2024 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this timeframe, the device would be part of the iPhone 16 lineup or later.
In a September 2022 edition of his weekly "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said there was "potential" for an iPhone 15 Ultra to replace the iPhone 15 Pro...
Thursday February 2, 2023 7:57 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's VP of hardware engineering Matthew Costello and product marketing employee Alice Chan recently spoke with Men's Journal and TechCrunch about the new second-generation HomePod in wide-ranging interviews about the smart speaker.
Apple discontinued the original full-size HomePod in March 2021 after multiple reports indicated that sales of the speaker were lackluster, but Chan told Men's ...
Google's Chromium developers are working on an experimental web browser for iOS that would break Apple's browser engine restrictions, The Register reports.
The experimental browser, which is being actively pursued by developers, uses Google's Blink engine. Yet if Google attempted to release it on the App Store, it would not pass Apple's App Review process.
Apple's App Store rules dictate...
Thursday February 2, 2023 6:41 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple appears to be preparing an iOS 16.3.1 update for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs this week. It's unclear when the update will be released, but it will likely be available at some point in February.
The same logs have accurately foreshadowed the release of several previous updates, including iOS 16.0.3 and iOS 16.1.1 most recently, so they...
Friday February 3, 2023 1:28 pm PST by Juli Clover
Today is the official launch day for the second-generation HomePod that was introduced in January, and we picked one up to compare it to the original HomePod that Apple discontinued in 2021.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Design wise, the second-generation HomePod looks a lot like the first-generation model, featuring the same rounded design and acoustic mesh...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.
Top Rated Comments
If you can't handle that, you're a deluded fanboy, and they're not "a lowlife company." They make good products for those who want to have the best specs over a curated user experience.
Just because we prefer the iPhone does not make it justified to bash a company for making a phone with rounded corners, and especially one that makes 50% of the technology in your beloved Apple devices. Excellent technology, I may add; they're at the top of the industry with hardware. Nobody makes better chips or components than they do.
2,
1...
:rolleyes:
I dont feel comfortable with it...who knows what kind of insight that gives to this lowlife company!
Ask any of my friends and family, and they'll confirm that I get angry about many, many stupid things.
Being upset about who fabricates a chip for my smartphone is not even within the realm of possibility of something I could be angry about.
My suggestion is that in order to be able to post something anti-Samsung you have to sign an affidavit pledging that you own nothing with parts made by Samsung. Otherwise, you're just a hypocrite.