Apple A5 chip overheating might be delaying the iPhone 5 launch

15 July, 2011
Here we have another interesting theory on what might be preventing Apple from releasing the next iPhone yet. The latest bit of online gossip has it that the problem lies within the dual-core Apple A5 chip..

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  • PF5
  • 16 Jul 2011

time to wake up, 16 Jul 2011That has to be one of the dumbest comments I've ever read; ... moreI agree with you here. While the iPhone 4 is a good product, there are plenty of better choices for the consumer. Unfortunately, Apple has warped the tech industry into a place where having a cool reputation and good looks determines the winner. Like I said before, it won't be long before Apple turns into the next Microsoft, the old Microsoft of course.

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    • Laurynas
    • 0xM
    • 16 Jul 2011

    Tom, 16 Jul 2011Apple does not care about the world. They only market their... moreAs I said before, iPhone doesn't spin only around Verizon!

    Look here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1937

      • t
      • time to wake up
      • ph7
      • 16 Jul 2011

      AnonD-5197, 16 Jul 2011Lady Gaga is the best singer because she sells so many albu... moreThat has to be one of the dumbest comments I've ever read; don’t confuse vocal talent for great marketing and branding strategy. Most people who newly buy into an Apple product (mainly iPhone) are not entirely sure what they are buying into. Majority consumers confuse a good app for good technology, good branding for quality of branding, which in both cases, is not the same thing. What has made iPhone success is simple equation of good branding (marketing), fashion (the iPhone is a fashionable item beyond anything else) and “decent” technology. Try to understand this, and this goes to the idiots that queue-up for days to get their hands on an iPhone/iPad, while people on the other side of the world queue up for food and water: Like all most large successful companies, Apple doesn’t give s@#t about you; they only care about your money. FACT.

        • w
        • willstay
        • Px0
        • 16 Jul 2011

        ALonZo, 16 Jul 2011Rumours rumours rumours......that's all they are! The bad s... moreI wouldn't call that clever marketing, thankfully SGS2 has been filling the void.

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          • PF5
          • 16 Jul 2011

          [deleted post]Yes, that antenna issue was pathetic for a phone. Aesthetics would sacrifice so much. Let's hope the rumoured ''thinner and lighter'' casing actually prevents this bane. That, and an appropriately priced ph- oh forget it. Apple's never gonna change it's pricing scheme. Haha... Can't wait for comparisons between the N9 and the iPhone 5 be made.

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            • ALonZo
            • LhV
            • 16 Jul 2011

            Rumours rumours rumours......that's all they are! The bad stories are probably created by Apple haters to keep the haters happy. iPhones are having a delayed release as iPhone 4's are still selling brilliantly and Apple ain't stupid like Samsung to bring out another model when the current model is selling well. It's called clever marketing.

            Now anyone saying iPhones are "rubbish" clearly have never used an iPhone before. iPhones are the best smartphones you can buy, if you don't believe me go and actually buy one :)

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • fXg
              • 16 Jul 2011

              apple is over rated. I would noy use any of their products, I use a nokia N8 and a blackberry 9780 and i would take them over the iphone without a thought. I know the phones are not the best in the world but i feel they are better than iphone 4

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                • Chris
                • vxY
                • 16 Jul 2011

                AnonD-5197, 16 Jul 2011Lady Gaga is the best singer because she sells so many albu... morePlease tell me that wasn't a serious comment.

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                  • alphashort
                  • Y2V
                  • 16 Jul 2011

                  You techie nerds really don't get it, do you? People want an i-phone because it is a status symbol. AAPL is cool in the eyes of the consumer. Ever walk into an Apple store? Cool. Apple is the Prada of electronics. Yes, there may be some better hardware in android phones, but who cares about Android? Certainly not the consumer. Ask the average consumer if he is holding an android phone and most of them don't even know. There is no brand loyalty. Further, android is a buggy, fragmented operating system. I'm sure AAPL is very comfortable having GOOG as a competitor in this space. GOOG makes no money at it and AAPL prints money at it. Now, who's the smart one?

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                    • AnonD-9023
                    • ut3
                    • 16 Jul 2011

                    i am not sure about what i am going to say but ,

                    apple just uses samsung processors and tweak it little bit and undercloak it finally renames them as "A4,A5........"

                    i heard galaxy s2 is overheating during prolonged usage , since iphone using same architectured chip , overheating issues must be there on iphone since its using almost hard-copy of galaxy processor .

                    and second factor is thin-ness + last year antenna issue taught them a lesson not to rush their phones , so this year they will be bit careful because of competition .

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                      • PF5
                      • 16 Jul 2011

                      Tom, 16 Jul 2011Apple overtook Microsoft, the previous tech leader, some ti... moreTypo on my previous post. I meant ''it does make sense''. Anyway, I wonder how I missed that. *pop* , we're gonna celebrate the next age of tech monopoly, let history repeat itself, cheers!

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                        • PF5
                        • 16 Jul 2011

                        Kevin McIntyre, 16 Jul 2011Hi Folks, Think this article is not well thought out. ... moreDude, first of all, please don't post a wall text, it's really annoying to read. Moving to your point; yes, I can see how smartphones will move towards dual-cores and perhaps even quad-cores in the next decade. Hopefully the nm manufacturing process won't encounter any hiccups. Dynamic clocking of speed is what's needed for smartphones, unfortunately most companies don't apply this to their products well. We still had to rely on custom ROMs to make it happen.

                          • S
                          • Sun Down
                          • PF5
                          • 16 Jul 2011

                          Tom, 16 Jul 2011What he meant is that Apple's market valuation is bigger th... moreI doubt that what he actually meant. He stated ''computer company''. Though if you put it that way it doesn makes sense. Any chance Apple is gonna be the next Microsoft?

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                            • Tom
                            • v$x
                            • 16 Jul 2011

                            Laurynas, 16 Jul 2011You also remember that the world doesn't spin only around V... moreApple does not care about the world. They only market their iPhones to selected countries with selected carriers. They are not a mass marketing company. All the people in other countries use either jailbroken or factory unlocked iPhones to use them but Apple does not target these customers.

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                              • Tom
                              • v$x
                              • 16 Jul 2011

                              Sun Down, 16 Jul 2011Microsoft is a software company, and the largest computer m... moreWhat he meant is that Apple's market valuation is bigger than Microsoft's now, which was previously the most valued tech company in the world.

                                • L
                                • Laurynas
                                • 0xM
                                • 16 Jul 2011

                                Tom, 16 Jul 2011People are so dumb. Apple is delaying launch of iPhone 5 be... moreYou also remember that the world doesn't spin only around Verizon!

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                                  • PF5
                                  • 16 Jul 2011

                                  Someone, 16 Jul 2011All you haters telling Apple to give up is ridiculous. D... moreMicrosoft is a software company, and the largest computer manufacturer is not Apple, it's Hewlett Packard.

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                                    • Kevin McIntyre
                                    • m5E
                                    • 16 Jul 2011

                                    Hi Folks,

                                    Think this article is not well thought out.

                                    Taking the TSMC issue first. As Apple is now producing their own design completely independently of Samsung, ie not using them for the design, or the back-end prior to making your chip; it makes sense that they look at independent chip Fabs. TSMC is of course one of the main players in this field, so logical to choose them. It is also likely that Samsung's Fab is compatible with TSMC processes anyway. So I think the recent spat between these companies has had little impact, as Apple have been pushing this way since acquiring the capability to design their own chips back in 2008 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9926461-37.html

                                    On the dual-core heating issue, I think there is some fundamental misunderstanding about how dual-core should work. A Cortex A8 capable of running at 1GHz (single core as per A4) vs a Cortex A9 capable of hitting 1GHz (dual core as per the A5), with the same load, will mean the Cortex A8 is running way hotter than the Cortex A9 dual core.

                                    Why? Quiet simply the single core will be running at or near maximum frequency (and voltage, and this is the key term for energy) more of the time. Whereas the dual core will be running at a lower frequency and corresponding voltage more of the time. So less overall heat is generated. This is why the PC industry and mobile have moved to dual core as you could not continue on the single core pump up the frequency roadmap.

                                    Of course if you are running both cores at max frequency then you will have issues, although I suspect it will be battery life rather than heating that will be the real issue.

                                    I hope this clarifies the situation somewhat.

                                    Kevin

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                                      • Tom
                                      • v$x
                                      • 16 Jul 2011

                                      People are so dumb. Apple is delaying launch of iPhone 5 because they launched iPhone 4 on Verizon this year. So naturally they had to delay launch of iPhone 5 to give Verizon enough time to sell iPhone 4. But instead of thinking it in this way, people are now making rumours ......