Apple Quietly Updates iPad 2's Processor
bonch writes "Apple has quietly replaced the iPad 2's A5 with a smaller 32nm die that increases battery life by 15 to 30%. It's theorized that Apple is using the iPad 2 as a test bed for the new hardware platform, which shrinks the surface area of the A5 to 57% of the previous size."
mini ipads are coming
These ones are cheaper to make, and may allow them to save money on a smaller battery.
And they didn't change mine... Not even quietly.
Maybe if the leave the old big one behind, I can put it under my pillow tonight. Then, when the processor-ferry comes around, I will end up with some shiny coins as well!
rm -rf --no-preserve-root /
I find it very difficult to believe that a die shrink would improve battery life by that much. Given the amount of energy used by the screen and the radios, you could probably remove the CPU entirely and not see a 30% power reduction.
Either they fixed some other issues, or else the power savings are being exaggerated. Did the old processor have an extremely high sleep current, perhaps?
The "quiet" nature of this change is likely to avoid attracting lawsuits from early adopters of iPad 2.0 that bought a (now) inferior product for more money.
More power for all my fart Apps!
This only applies to the WiFi version, called iPad2,4. The CDMA and 3G versions are still using the older 45 nm version of the A5 processor.
- Henrik
- when the Shadows descend -
Page 4 of TFA states that the 30% was measured while gaming. Games typically put a high load on both the CPU and GPU; these are scenarios where the total power usage is high and therefore the screen and radios make up a smaller fraction of the power footprint.
The premium 9.7" 'new' iPad comes with the 2048Ã--1536 px display.
Apple could shrink down the iPad 2 to, say, 7" at 1024Ã--768 px.
If they're continuing to update the "old" iPad well after the "new" iPad came out, it seems logical to conclude that they intend to maintain two lines of iPads.
I can see some logic to this - the iPad 2 is becoming their "low-end" tablet, and the iPad 3 is becoming their "high-end" tablet. You'll note that the 32GB and 64GB iPad 2s were discontinued, but the 16GB (aka cheapest) models are still made. Most likely they'll keep trying to chip down the price of the iPad 2 to make it more competitive with the cheaper Android tablets, while producing higher-spec (and higher-price) iPad 3 models.
There's probably going to be some brand-shuffling going on. Most likely they'll rename them to "iPad" and "iPad Pro", mirroring their old MacBook / MacBook Pro branding.
Did Intel buy Apple, or are they just copying the strategy of the most successful desktop processor manufacturer?
obviously, since jobs death they are working with a limited supply of magic. until an entire new generation of unicorns can be grown and harvested, there simply isn't enough to fill the old full sized CPUs.
-Lod
The irony is, it's the same processor running the galaxy s III. http://www.phonearena.com/news/Processor-on-next-Apple-iPhone-to-be-produced-via-Samsungs-32nm-process_id29024
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Isn't it time for another Creationist vs. Science debate?
My mac mini died years ago. Thank God.
Apple just had a cooling issue with one of their products, and now they are shrinking the surface area of a product?
A die shrink reduces thermal output, lowers voltages, increases battery life.
Surely we went over all this with Ivy Bridge?
I love my kindle fire [...] I'd much prefer to have an iPad for the app support
Kindle Fire runs Android 2 and can install applications from unknown sources. And if you need applications that are exclusive to Google Play Store, there's a package for that too.
bonch is a professional 'social marketing influencer' who is paid to post stories which promote Apple and slander their competitors.
Here are some of the shill's most recent submissions:
In the words of a paid commenter, Apple is breaking records and 'clarifying' its self to Authors, whilst including incredible new technology in its' tablets. Meanwhile, Google is being investigated by multiple governments, censoring, is full of viruses, and losing market share, Nintendo is failing when compared to the iPhone, and Free Software is a dying corpse that should be abandoned in favor of iPad apps.
bonch, why don't you disclose that you were paid to post this?
You mean the Processor-Fairy came on a Ferry?
I guess using a Bus was out of the question...
Sigh....
Apple has quietly replaced the iPad 2's A5
How loudly should they replace them? Should they stand on rooftops and yell, "WE ARE REPLACING THE GODDAMN PROCESSORS IN THE IPAD!!! THAT IS ALL!"
Actually, we did! At stock clocks the ivy bridge consumes less power an produces less heat. This is especially true for underclocked laptop versions.
The sad part is neither is the Macbook. It's a bloody computer and an obsolete one at that.
I still constantly hear and read this. I'd go as far and say ever since Jobs rejoined Apple and introduced OS X this isn't the case anymore.
I'm a die hard nerd/geek with 13 years of Linux experience, and I love nothing more than a well-configured x86-Linux driven piece of hardware *and* ever since I stopped buying the most recent windows games - sometime back in 2001 or so - I allways go for the most bang for buck.
Why then is it that I'm typing this on a MB Air?
Quite frankly, because there is no alternative. It's Unix with most of the Bash & CLI toolstack preinstalled. It has a touchpad that for once isn't built by the techstandards of 1995 - i.e. doesn't suck like an industry-grade vacuum cleaner. It has a 64bit core 2 duo CPU and a battery life management built into the OS that was built by the exact same people that built the battery and the motherboard and everthing else inside it 1,3kg light aluminum enclosure.
Ok, there are, as of now, Ultrabooks out there that don't come with MS tax and cost less with simular performance. But when I bought this one, after long and carefull consideration, there wasn't an alternative.
A PC that doesn't even come close to the current cheapest Mac Mini in size, noise, ease of handling and performance costs upwards of 1000$ at least. The cheapest mac mini costs 600$. Even if I replace the HDD with an SSD it will still be no more expensive or even cheaper than a PC equivalent.
A different example: I recently got myself an HTC Flyer tablet - also after long and carefull consideration. The upsides were: Cheap (bargain offer), precisely the right size and no Apple AppStore / X-Code ADC lock-in. And it was the only one that could compete with Apple quality wise. Actually, i I find the HTC Flyer to have a more pristine enclosure than the iPads.
Yet again, I'm a computer expert and have very specific considerations to make when buying such a device.
The newest iPad comes at 479 Euros and is at least a generation ahead of everything else in the tablet world - if I were a mere consumer that would be a very attractive prospect and anyone would be hard pressed to find a better offer price wise.
Bottom line:
Apple is loosing karma by the minute with a lot of experts, for the reasons we all know - but the legend that their hardware is overpriced is simply that: A legend. Within the spec-range they choose to deliver and cater to, they are, in fact, quite a good value. Denying that is just being silly.
My 2 cents.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Yes, but it also concentrates the footprint of the area generating the heat, requiring more and more exotic heat spreaders.
As reported in TFA, the die-shrunk version runs a bit cooler. Which if you know your thermodynamics, is pretty much inevitable if it has lower power consumption.
this was already said when they introduced the iPad 3, so it's nothing new actually..
As reported in TFA, the die-shrunk version runs a bit cooler. Which if you know your thermodynamics, is pretty much inevitable if it has lower power consumption.
How much thermodynamics do you need to know that things that draw less power run less hot?
Apple used to have Apple, Apple ][, Apple III, and then they jumped to MacIntosh (they scrapped Lisa)
Will they do the same with iPad?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
I assume you were also paid for your post, since you are so persistent in your attacks.
You know what? I don't care if you or Bonch made more/any money. Why should I care? All I care about is the quality of information presented, obviously many people are paid along the chain, after all the sites with the links are paid somehow also.
I especially do not care on Slashdot, where I can rely on comments to quickly bubble up a new link if there is a better/contrary view on the information presented.
All your post offers is noise and not a little bit of envy.
Perhaps you should devote your Nerd Rage into coming up with better links than Bonch, thereby displacing him. But you'll not do that, you'll simply continue to whine instead of taking real action.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Nos batteries neuves sont généralement déchargées et dispose d'une faible capacité (chaqu'une d'elle est testée avant l'envois).Il est fortement recomandé de vider la batterie jusqu'à 0% de sa capacité puis de la chargée toute une nuit et la revidée à 0% encore,faite cela 3 fois pour permettre d'utiliser ces capacitées au maximum. Etat: Neuf Composition:Li-ion Capacité: 5600mAh Tension: 10.8V Couleur: Silver Dimensions: 138.60 x112.50 x14.20mm http://www.pc-portable-batterie.fr/batterie-pour-apple-a1175.html