Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 15, 2013

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that – rumor mongering – Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)… Read More

 

Teardown reveals the Pebble isn’t repairable at all

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 13, 2013

Perhaps in a slight indication of the kinds of limitations we could expect from Apple’s rumored iWatch, repair wizards over at iFixit tore apart the Pebble smartwatch, having concluded that the components are so densely packed in such a tiny space that the gizmo is not repairable at all. As a result, iFixit refrained from giving the Pebble a repairability score in the first place.

And because the makers of the Pebble smartwatch had to use excessive adhesive for waterproofing, the battery is “very inaccessible” and there’s no way of prying open the device “without compromising the display”… Read More

 

Teardown finds iPad mini cost at least $188 to build

By Cody Lee on Nov 4, 2012

The iPad mini went on sale around the world on Friday, and though the official numbers aren’t in yet, it appears to be selling rather well. This in spite of its lack of a Retina display, and its higher-than-average price tag.

In fact, Apple’s had to defend the mini’s pricing a couple of times now, claiming that its profit margins on the device are lower than on any of its other products. And according to a new teardown, that seems to be the case…

Read More

 

Teardown of 4th gen iPad reveals LG Retina display and more

By Cody Lee on Nov 2, 2012

With the newly-unveiled fourth generation iPad now on sale in some parts of the globe, the inevitable teardowns have begun. As usual, iFixit was first on scene, and has posted a detailed breakdown of the tablet’s innards.

As you might expect, there aren’t many internal differences between the new iPad and the one Apple launched 6 months ago. But it does have a new processor, and a few other changes, so it’s certainly worth taking a look at… Read More

 

iPad mini teardown reveals Samsung display, stereo speakers

By Cody Lee on Nov 1, 2012

We’ve still got about 24 hours or so until the iPad mini goes on sale here in the US, but the i-teardown experts over at iFixit have already scored their test subject. And they’re ripping it apart as we speak.

This has become a bit of a ritual for the do-it-yourself repair site, with new Apple products, and it usually reveals some interesting things about the devices. So let’s see what they’ve discovered thus far… Read More

 

Microsoft’s Surface is more repairable than iPad 3

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 29, 2012

The repair experts over at iFixit pried open Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet (model number 1516) and awarded the device a repairability score of four out of ten (ten is the easiest to repair), thanks to several components being modular and replaceable without requiring desoldering. Plus, the battery can be removed “pretty easily”, iFixit notes.

This is better than a score of two out of ten for the third-generation iPad with Retina display, but lower than Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which has an impressive eight out of ten repairability score. Google’s seven-inch Nexus tablet is the easiest to repair among these tablets with a nice seven out of ten score. More tidbits and teardown analysis right below… Read More

 

The new iPod nano teardown analysis finds five Apple-branded mystery chips

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 16, 2012

Solutions provider iFixit tore apart Apple’s seventh-generation iPod nano which was released alongside the iPhone 5 and the fifth-generation iPod touch at the September 12 media event. In addition to a Broadcom Bluetooth module and a touchscreen controller from Texas Instruments (whose mobile arm could be acquired by Amazon), the music player also packs in five Apple-branded mystery chips and scores a lower repairability score than the iPhone 5… Read More

 

iPod touch teardown: cheaper display assembly, weaker home button, low repairability

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 11, 2012

Apple’s fifth-generation iPod touch, which debuted alongside the iPhone 5 during the September 12 keynote, is on sale now, first reviews are great and already the wizards at iFixit have done what they do best: they tore apart the device to peek under the hood and analyze its innards.

Unlike the iPhone 5 that runs the latest A6 chip with 1GB of RAM, Apple’s ultra-thin (just 6.1mm) media player packs in the Apple-designed A5 processor with 512MB of Hynix-supplied RAM. The same silicon also powers the iPad 2 (the iPad 3 runs a souped up variant labeled the A5X). Perhaps unexpectedly, the new iPod touch has a weaker home button than that on the iPhone 5… Read More

 

Samsung-made A6 chip has dual ARM CPU cores, 3 PowerVR GPU cores, 1GB RAM

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 25, 2012

Apple claims the iPhone 5 is twice as fast as the iPhone 4S (which is no slouch) in terms of processing and graphics power, thanks to the in-house designed A6 chip. You could even say that the A6 pushes the iPhone 5 ahead of competing smartphones, at least in Javascript and Geekbench tests.

The A6 is clearly a beast of a chip, not just in terms of sheer power but also in delivering the world’s first phone powered by ARM’s Cortex-A15 CPU platform, completely customized to Apple’s needs. In addition to two CPU cores, the first diffusion image by UBM TechInsights has also showed three GPUs.

And now, repair wizards iFixit teamed up with chip experts Chipworks who put the A6 silicon under a sophisticated microscope. Here’s what we could glean from so-called “floorplans”… Read More

 

New A6 chip confirmed to have three GPU cores

By Cody Lee on Sep 22, 2012

The iPhone 5 launched yesterday, and first impressions seem to be in line with the early reviews: the thing is fast. As most of you know, Apple custom-built an all-new processor for the handset called the A6.

Now that the phone is available, we expect to learn more about the new chip as teardown experts continue to rip the device apart. In fact, a new tidbit has already surfaced: the A6 has triple-core graphics… Read More

 

iFixit gives the iPhone 5 the teardown treatment

By Cody Lee on Sep 20, 2012

Though we’ve still got a good 8 hours or so before the iPhone 5 officially goes on sale here in the US, due to the time difference, the handset has already launched in Australia.

And wouldn’t you know it, the i-teardown experts over at iFixit were on hand to pick one up and have already started ripping it apart. More on their findings inside the fold… Read More

 

First iPhone 5 teardown hits the web…

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 20, 2012

…but it ain’t a kind of thorough analysis we’d come to expect from repair experts iFixIt. Instead, a German blog has obtained an iPhone 5 and pried it open, exposing the innards of Apple’s new device to the world. As you know, the iPhone 5 goes on sale in the United States and eight international markets tomorrow at 8am.

This teardown does prove, however, that a bunch of parts that leaked in the run-up to the iPhone 5 keynote were legit. The layout of components appears to closely resemble both the slides and the promo video Apple execs used during the keynote. For true teardown analysis, we’ll have to wait until iFixIt gets their hands on the iPhone 5… Read More

 

iFixit tears down Apple’s new EarPods

By Cody Lee on Sep 18, 2012

In addition to a new iPhone, and iPods, Apple also unveiled a new set of headphones last week. Dubbed “EarPods,” the company said that it spent more than three years developing the accessory.

Today, the team over at iFixit performed their usual teardown of the headphones, and published an extensive report of its findings. And as you can imagine, some of it is rather interesting… Read More

 

Google’s Nexus 7 beats iPad 3 on repairability

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 4, 2012

Despite being only one millimeter thicker, Google’s upcoming Nexus 7 slate is more repairable than the new iPad, a teardown analysis by iFixit has concluded. Its components are assembled using standard tools, unlike the new iPad’s innards which are glued together.

A simpler assembly makes servicing the Google tablet fairly easy with standard plastic opening tools that make “cracking the Nexus shell like cutting through butter”… Read More

 

Microscope analysis of A5X chip finds jumbo-sized GPU, 310% larger package

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 20, 2012

While guys over at iFixIt have done their trademark awesome job peeking under the new iPad’s hood, one aspect of its bowels hasn’t been scrutinized yet: the Apple-designed A5X chip labeled “S5L8945X” and fabbed on Samsung’s 45-nanometer process. Enter silicon analysis firm Chipworks which just released a high-resolution photo depicting so-called “floorplans” of the A5X package.

Their analysis corroborates speculation on the A5X architecture and offers a fascinating insight into the innards of the A5X package. As you can see in the above shot, a large portion of the A5X’s die is dedicated to the four graphic cores, found to be comparable to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip in terms of speed.

Apple does not publicly specify the type of GPU/CPU used, but it’s been widely rumored that the A5X packs in Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX543MP4 technology versus a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU found inside the A5 chip from iPad 2 (both pieces of silicon run dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU). Read on for the nitty-gritty details depicted in the polysilicon die photos… Read More

 

The new iPad costs Apple at least $316 to build

By Oliver Haslam on Mar 17, 2012

It’s become something of a ritual for some. Apple releases a new device, be it iPhone or iPad, and then someone waits patiently to get their hands on it with the sole aim of ripping it apart. It’s a regular assurance these days, and the new iPad has suffered the same fate as its brethren.

This time around, amongst others, IHS iSuppli got their hands on a new iPad and set about doing the only honorable thing: ripping it apart with the sole aim of trying to figure out just how much one of these things costs to make and, thus, how much the device is adding to Apple’s world famous bottom line.

The answer very much depends on the model sold, but regardless, Apple is indeed making plenty of profit on each iPad sold… Read More

 

The new iPad teardown

By Cody Lee on Mar 15, 2012

Every time Apple releases new hardware, the tech world awaits its inevitable teardown. Apple’s products are just as much a feat in engineering as they are sleek and beautiful. And everyone wants to know how they’ve done it.

The new iPad is no exception. Apple has managed to squeeze over 3 million pixels into the tablet’s Retina display, and add a high-speed LTE radio, all while maintaing [roughly] the same size, price and battery life of its predecessors.

So what’s going on under the hood to make it all possible? Let’s find out… Read More

 

A Closer Look at the iPhone 4S Proximity Sensor and Siri

By Alex Heath on Nov 9, 2011

Apple recently stated in a support email that it has no plans to bring Siri to older iDevices, and many are wondering why. If it’s just a matter of software, then Apple’s decision to not bring Siri to non-4S devices can be seen as a simple marketing gimmick. If other devices can run Siri like the iPhone 4S, then why not make it available for everyone?

Porting Siri to other iDevices involves more than just software, as there are some noticeable hardware differences in the iPhone 4S. Read More

 

iPhone 4S Parts Cost Same as iPhone 4

By Kickstar13 on Oct 20, 2011

The folks over at iSuppli have teared down the new iPhone 4S, this time providing a detailed analysis as well as the estimated cost to manufacture the handset.

While the iPhone 4S looks almost completely identical to the previous generation iPhone 4, there are some changes inside the new handset which seem to have translated to a 50 cent cost increase from the iPhone 4… Read More

 

iFixYouri Video Shows You How to Disassemble Your iPhone 4S

By Cody Lee on Oct 14, 2011

If you’re one of the millions of people that pre-ordered an iPhone 4S, or were able to snag one from a retail store, chances are you’ve been busy today. You’ve moved your contacts over, synced it with iTunes, and customized its settings to your liking.

Well the folks over at iFixYouri have a different ritual they go through after receiving a new handset. They’ve pulled out the mini-screwdriver, and have completely disassembled Apple’s new smartphone. Find out how easy it is in this surprisingly short video clip… Read More

 
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