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Thread: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

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    News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    The A4 chip makes Apple self-sufficient when it comes to the brains inside its new product.
    Read more.

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    Senior Member mikemikemi's Avatar
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Looks ok, but I prefer some of the fake renders when all the rumours were flying around.

    Can't find the link though, but it was a tablet where the screen ran almost to the edge.

    Some others can be seen here:
    http://gizmodo.com/5249808/apples-ta...e-story-so-far

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    Senior[ish] Member Singh400's Avatar
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    I'm no Apple expert, but didn't they make a deal with Intel for chips?

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by Singh400 View Post
    I'm no Apple expert, but didn't they make a deal with Intel for chips?
    for notebooks yes.... think of this as a big iphone... iphone has a ARM processor inside... and they bought there own semi conductor and chip designer a while ago... and so produced A4

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    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Obviously it's the kind of deal that isn't exclusive.

    Just in case you missed the link in that HEXUS.channel article, Apple bought PA Semi in April 2008 - http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=12938

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    From engaget
    * The ebook implementation is about as close as you can get to reading without a stack of bound paper in your hand. The visual stuff really helps flesh out the experience. It may be just for show, but it counts here.
    Apart from the fact that it's full colour so you can have pretty pictures, it's still a glossy lcd screen isn't it?
    So in bright light conditions, you'll get lots of reflection and it'll be hard to see.

    Where as ebooks use Electronic paper which is a totally different technology, based of reflected light and no refreshing.
    This means the stronger the light the clearer they are to read, just like word written on paper.

    If I want an ebook then it's to read on, not look at pictures, although this would be a good for a "my first epicturebook"

    Here was a great use for the old tablet pc's http://arstechnica.com/gaming/guides...-nirvana.ars/2
    Now if someone would make a nice old school isometric rpg app then you'd have a use for the ipad.

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad


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    Comfortably Numb directhex's Avatar
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    It's an ARM chip, given they claim binary compatibility with iPhone apps (many of which are natively built for ARM)

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by directhex View Post
    It's an ARM chip, given they claim binary compatibility with iPhone apps (many of which are natively built for ARM)
    or very heavily based upon one by consent of ARM

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Sorry Scott, this is not quite an Apple chip and its disappointing that you have fallen for Apple's marketing ploy. Its an ARM chip...

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by Vadim View Post
    Sorry Scott, this is not quite an Apple chip and its disappointing that you have fallen for Apple's marketing ploy. Its an ARM chip...
    But it's not produced by Arm, it's produced by the Apple division that was previously PA Semi.

    Samsung also make processors for mobile use.... based on an Arm core under licence. This does not make them Arm processors.

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by Cozwin View Post
    or very heavily based upon one by consent of ARM
    ARM don't make processors, they sell their IP to semiconductor firms who then turn them into chips. They will do a lot of the design work for you though - or not, depending on your needs.
    Quote Originally Posted by Vadim View Post
    Sorry Scott, this is not quite an Apple chip and its disappointing that you have fallen for Apple's marketing ploy. Its an ARM chip...
    Scott knows as well as I that there's ARM IP in there, and while I will refute Apple's claims of it being their own chip when they didn't design the CPU, the SoC, or at least the way it's put together, will be down to them (or the people from PA Semi that they bought up). More discussion over here.
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    ARM itself doesn't actually produce chips, it just licenses it's IP to whoever wants to make them.
    Calling something an ARM processor is equivalent to describing an architecture (e.g. x86) rather than a manufacturer (such as Intel).

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    True, but we dont call AMD CPUs as 'globalfoundries' and neither nvidia GPUs are called TSMC?

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    Senior Member Scott B's Avatar
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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by Vadim View Post
    Sorry Scott, this is not quite an Apple chip and its disappointing that you have fallen for Apple's marketing ploy. Its an ARM chip...
    Hi Vadim, you must have more information about the chip than I do.

    I believe it has to be using the ARM instruction set as I'm not aware of any viable alternatives, and directhex makes a good point above. So the remaining question is how much other ARM IP is there in it? Is it Cortex A9 based like Tegra or an in-house design like Snapdragon? Does it use Mali graphics or their own?

    It would be surprising if Apple had managed its own ground-up architecture in the year and a half since it bought PA Semi, but it has very deep pockets and could have chucked a lot of money at it, so I'm not counting that out until I get more info.

    One question for you, Vadim: Is Tegra, therefore, not an NVIDIA chip?

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    Re: News - Apple launches its own chip for the iPad

    Quote Originally Posted by Vadim View Post
    True, but we dont call AMD CPUs as 'globalfoundries' and neither nvidia GPUs are called TSMC?
    You're a step beyond the discussion there. AMD and NVIDIA are fabless semiconductor firms - they don't manufacture their chips, but they design them.

    Apple is also a fabless semiconductor firm, by acquisition more than anything else, but it licenses some of the IP for its chips from ARM. The rest of the SoC design is theirs (probably with some reference design to work from), but again, they don't manufacture it.
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