5.5-Inch iPhone 6's A8 Processor May Be More Powerful Than in 4.7-Inch Model

[bsolar]

If Apple was not doing a me too, there'd be no larger phone rumours. But there is.

What I meant is that Apple is not jumping into the larger smartphone form factor only because they noticed competitors trying that way (read: "I have no strategy but someone else is going that way... me too!"). Apple tried a very clear strategy which involved keeping a smaller form factor and if they are going to release a large format it's not simply to emulate competitors, it's most likely because Apple realized their strategy was not the winning one.

And the whole phone size thing, Apple will make profits from the larger sized phones. That's almost a guarantee. The catch is at what cost. Trading off your ideals and what makes Apple, the Apple it is today (ie striving for the best products and not just catering to the masses demands), is that a cost Apple is willing to pay? I think Apple is willing to pay it. if I was TC I could not pay that cost. But I'm not TC and it probably will happen.

Striving for the best products doesn't mean ignoring the masses' demands. The opposite: it involves understanding the reasons behind the masses' demands and designing a product which satisfies these demands in an exceptional way, maybe even in ways the masses' themselves didn't expect. Apple did it with the iPad, maybe they'll deliver something completely different with the iPhone 6 too, but it would mean that they understood why premium consumers want larger smartphones and found a way to satisfy the underlying requirement in some other way.

 

[firewood]

Here's a benchmark comparison of last years iPhone 5s A7 processor to a Tegra K1-64 and a Haswell running in a tablet-size power envelope. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2463900/nvidia-reveals-pc-like-performance-for-denver-tegra-k1.html

An Apple A8 wouldn't need to run much faster to match Haswell at that power level. Who knows how fast an A8-type ARM processor core could run if tweaked and packaged for a laptop/desktop power envelope? Desktop class?

 

[cmaier]

Here's a benchmark comparison of last years iPhone 5s A7 processor to a Tegra K1-64 and a Haswell running in a tablet-size power envelope. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2463900/nvidia-reveals-pc-like-performance-for-denver-tegra-k1.html

An Apple A8 wouldn't need to run much faster to match Haswell at that power level. Who knows how fast an A8-type ARM processor core could run if tweaked and packaged for a laptop/desktop power envelope? Desktop class?

It's more than a tweak. Presumably would require increased clock frequency. Power increases linearly with frequency. And raising the frequency would require increasing the voltage. Power increases with the square of the voltage. So if you just tweak, you may get the same performance but at much higher power. If you limit the power to match desktop TDP, you can't get the performance.

It requires a thorough redesign instead.

 

[Fenez]

Why would a better 5.5" phone with some bumped up specs ruin it for people who only want a 4.7" device?
If I want a device no matter the size, that's the device I would buy. I just don't see the reasoning behind being upset with apple if they want to make a larger device the premium of the 2..It's not like the 4.7" isn't going to be an upgrade from what's currently offered.

 

[D.T.]

It's more than a tweak. Presumably would require increased clock frequency. Power increases linearly with frequency. And raising the frequency would require increasing the voltage. Power increases with the square of the voltage. So if you just tweak, you may get the same performance but at much higher power. If you limit the power to match desktop TDP, you can't get the performance.

It requires a thorough redesign instead.

Yeah, there was recently some chit-chat on a couple of podcasts about the viability of an ARM based MBx, and the general consensus: to match the performance of current desktop CPUs, the increased in clock/power would negate any potential power savings. It would also introduce things like app incompatibility, loss of x86 for running Winders™, i.e., not worth it based on the current architecture.

 

[cmaier]

Yeah, there was recently some chit-chat on a couple of podcasts about the viability of an ARM based MBx, and the general consensus: to match the performance of current desktop CPUs, the increased in clock/power would negate any potential power savings. It would also introduce things like app incompatibility, loss of x86 for running Winders™, i.e., not worth it based on the current architecture.

I'd estimate if you redesign from scratch you can get equivalent power to x86 at 20% less power consumption with ARM, based on elimination of a lot of x86 junk (simplified instruction decoders, elimination of bad critical paths between instruction and data fetch, simplification of floating point unit, etc.) That's assuming identical fab process, which of course is unlikely.

 

[shansoft]

According to which sources? From e.g. this article "phablets" seem to be selling incredibly well:

Because all flagship Android phones are now 5" or bigger? Consumer got no choice at all...
Its cheaper to make big phone with the top spec to compete with iPhone, else they couldn't do it because how badly design Android is with that power hug.

The only one that is smaller but still remain flagship specs is Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.

If you look at the globe, the 5" or bigger screen size phone market still not as big as you think. The smaller segment still dominating.

Heck with the current top and bottom bezel on iPhone, a 4.7" screen is gonna make it the same size or bigger than the current 5" Android. It's ridiculous...

 

[zipa]

Because all flagship Android phones are now 5" or bigger? Consumer got no choice at all...

There are something like 13000 (thirteen thousand) Android models currently on the market. Apple has, what, four iPhone models? You tell me which "camp" has the choice...