The new A10 Fusion chip at the heart of the iPhone 7 is the most significant feature to be examined, with Chipworks noting the chip is indeed manufactured by TSMC with a die size of roughly 125 square millimeters. The iPhone 7 is also confirmed to include 2 GB of memory, compared to the 3 GB found on the iPhone 7 Plus.
The A10 is also extremely thin, due in large part to the InFO packaging technique used by TSMC which was seen as a major factor in TSMC winning exclusivity for A10 production.
[W]hatever node is being used, the A10 processor is incredibly thin, giving credibility to the reports that TSMC’s InFO packaging technique is being used.
The A10 sits below the Samsung K3RG1G10CM 2-GB LPDDR4 memory. This is similar to the low power mobile DRAM as the one we found in the iPhone 6s. Looking at the X-rays we see the four dies are not stacked, but are spread out across the package. This arrangement keeps the overall package height to a minimum. Assembled in a package-on-package assembly with the A10 InFO packaging technique reduces the total height of PoP significantly.
On the cellular modem side, Chipworks found an Intel part that is likely the XMM7360, paired with two SMARTi 5 RF transceiver chips and a power management chip also from Intel.
As we previously noted, Apple is producing two different models of both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, with models for AT&T and T-Mobile users not including support for CDMA networks. This is apparently a result of a modem supplier split between Intel and Qualcomm, with Intel's current chips unable to support CDMA networks due to licensing issues. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modems can support both GSM and CDMA networks.
Finally, Chipworks notes that flash storage for the iPhone 7 is also being at least dual-sourced, with Hynix and Toshiba chips being found in its two teardown phones.
For the rest of the details on the chips found in the iPhone 7, check out Chipworks' full rundown.
Update: Chipworks has confirmed the A10 Fusion chip is still made on TSMC's 16 nm FinFET+ process and has shared an annotated die shot of the chip.
Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you plan to skip...
Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by Tim Hardwick
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process.
From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPhone 17 Pro.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone ...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Although Black Friday has ended, Cyber Week is here and you can find great deals on numerous Apple devices right now. This includes big savings on AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Specifically,...
Amazing how far and ahead Apple is in the chip architecture in the mobile world and yet all you have is people complaining about the headphone jack...
The A10 is an absolutely fantastic SoC. But we're starting to hit the law of dminishing returns for mobile phone CPU performance. An A9 to A10 is not likely going to yield significantly large performance gains in everyday life because the A9 itself was already blazingly fast. when your App load times for most normal apps is in the miliseconds, a 10% increase isn't going to be really noticed.
Take away the most commonly used port in the world for audio, and people are going to notice.
So no, it's not amazing that the focus is on a functionality removal, and not an incremental update thats not going to be noticed by most.
