News from category ‘Hardware’

According to 9to5Mac the next generation iPhone will be released in 3 different capacities, but they do not sure about exact size of memory. It could be 16GB, 32GB and 64GB or 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB, or some other combination. What sizes Apple will actually release is up for argument. It seems unlikely that an 8GB model will appear, but all will be revealed at Apple’s iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S media event on Tuesday October 4th. But we should note that it is not the first time we’ve heard rumors about 64GB iPhone. Currently, the iPhone 4 is only available in 2 sizes: 16GB and 32GB. The source of the rumor comes from images of an iPhone 4 with storage of 59.1 GB, which shows that Apple have been experimenting with a higher-storage device.

Apple's new Thunderbolt display was torn down by iFixit.  Surprisingly, but this time it was very easy to disassemble the new display. iFixit found inside plethora of hardware to support normal work of display and docking station functions, which the display performs. iFixit told that both sides of the logic board were packed with different chips so that it was hard to believe that there was no computer inside the display.

The new display includes:

• Pericom PI7C9X440SL PCIe-to-USB 2.0 host controller
• L129NB11 EFL, which looks to be the Thunderbolt port controller
• Analog Devices ADAV4601 audio processor
• NXP LPC2144 USB 2.0 microcontroller
• Delta LFE9249 10/100/1000 Base-T LAN filter
• SMSC USB2517-JZX USB 2.0 hub controller
• Maxim MAX9736B Mono/Stereo high-power Class D amplifier
• LSI L-FW643E-2 open host controller interface
• Broadcom BCM57761 Gigabit ethernet controller
• Supertex HV9982 3-channel switch-mode LED driver IC

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Giga.de has produced a physical prototype mockup of the future iPhone 5. They made it look like in the latest rumors. Everything is done from a solid block of aluminum.

A 3D computer model was created based on leaked CAD designs, hardware components, several leaked hints, cases and other believable mockups. This model was then used to build a very detailed, true prototype iPhone 5, that you can actually hold and feel in your hands.

This prototype width and height are 59.94 mm and 109.98 mm, compared to 115.2 mm x 58.6 mm dimentions of iPhone 4. The prototype is also a bit thinner than its predecessor. Teardrop style with a thickness of 6.86 mm at the top and only 5.33 mm at the bottom.

Here are photos of iPhone 5 Design Prototype compared to iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4:

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Apple has reportedly added revised iPhone 4 and iPod touch models to its internal inventory database.  There are three new iPod touch models under the codename N81A that are suggested to be the new white iPod touch in three different capacities. As we know, the original black iPod touch has a N81 codename. The white iPod is expected to have the same SPU as the current model, an improved ambient light sensor and the addition of an oleophobic coating. The new iPod touch is likely to be released on October 13th or 14th.

The revised iPhone 4 has appeared in Apple’s inventory database under N90A codename, suggesting a minor change over the existing N90 device. That might be the rumored "iPhone 4S" that has been seen in a number of parts leaks and bearing a nearly identical appearance to the iPhone 4.

According to TUAW, Apple is about discontinuing the iPod classic and iPod shuffle as a part of “product transition”  this year.

It seems that the "product transition" Apple mentioned on the last earnings call could very well be within the iPod line. Specifically, if you want to buy an iPod shuffle or iPod classic from Apple, you should do it sooner rather than later. We've heard those two iPods are getting the axe this year.

The iPods now only make up for 8% of Apple’s total revenue. As the below graph shows, iPod sales have been falling over the last few quarters and although Apple doesn’t break these figures down model by model, its believed the iPod touch is what has held iPod sales up. The iPod nano also appears to be safe for the time being. The last official word about the iPod Classic came from Steve Jobs over a year ago. He said that they had no plans on discontinuing the iPod Classic at that time. Now, it seems they have changed their plans.

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Dave Salvator, Intel’s representative, said to Macworld that current Macs with Thunderbolt interface will be capable to work with fiber optic cables which will be released next year. This will make possible backwards compatibility of these cables with existing Thunderbolt I/O ports that is designed for work with electrical cables. Slavator said:

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JPMorgan analysts have recently predicted that Apple slashed its fourth quarter iPad production plans by 25%, suggesting significant price cut. But The Wall Street Journal believes that such argument is insufficient to make these predictions. Other analysts not that Apple appears to have actually accelerated production ahead of the holiday shopping season. Sources also indicate that Apple plans to begin production of the iPad 3 at the end of the fourth quarter or early in 2012, so accelerating production now, the company tries to ease that transition.

We believe chatter regarding iPad production cuts are misleading – we have seen pull-ins, not cuts. We have noted recent comments by competitors discussing iPad production cuts for 4Q. Our recently published AAPL supply-chain checks noted a sequential decline in 4Q iPad builds from 17 mln-19 mln units in 3Q to 11 mln-13 mln units in 4Q. However, the 4Q sequential decline was accompanied by an increase in 3Q builds, leading us to conclude that production was likely pulled-in from 4Q to 3Q.

Some analysts suggest that the fourth quarter production cuts may be connected with shifting some production to Brazil by the end of the year.

Appleinsider reports that analyst Chris Whitmore from Deutsche Bank is predicting Apple will release two devices next month - a redesigned aluminum unibody iPhone 5 and a low-end iPhone 4S.

The 'iPhone 4S' will have a material cost lower than $150. This will let Apple sell the device for the price between $300 and $350 without a subsidy. The device is described as 8GB iPod touch with a cellular antenna. We've heard these rumors for a long time.

Whitemore also said he expects the iPhone 5 to be a completely redesigned smartphone with an aluminum unibody construction to replace the glass back on the current device. It will have a better camera and slightly larger screen.

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Well, this is just amazing. Samsung indeed released a phone and a tablet that look similar to Apple's iPhone and iPad. Similar, but not a 100% copy. We cannot say the same about the USB AC power adapter from Galaxy S II. It is almost an exact replica, within a millimeter in every direction. I guess Apple will have one more reasonto ban Samsung products in courts all over the worls. By the way the previous Samsung USB power adapter looked very different.

Take a look at more photos:

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Scott Sutherland of Wedbush Securities issued updated projections for Apple predicting that the company would release an LTE device with an improved user interface in 2012. Barrons reports:

Sutherland expects the newest iPhone to debut in October, along with "an iPhone targeting emerging markets and an LTE iPhone in 2012 with a "materially improved user interface," without explaining any further. The iPad's competitors, moreover, will continue to struggle, he writes.

While Apple has made some improvements with its notifications center to iOS 5, the iPhone's basic interface has remained the same since the introduction of iOS. We doubt that 'material' improvements to the iPhone's operating system interface will be released anytime soon.

BGR claims that Apple will introduce only one new iPhone model, the so-called "iPhone 4S", at its October 4th media event. It sounds reasonable because we still have not seen any sights of a redesigned iPhone 5 coming through supply chain. More specifically, there is a complete lack of such new iPhone 5 parts, suggesting that Apple may be planning to launch only the iPhone 4S as its next-generation iPhone model.

“We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen. We believe the casing will be largely similar to the iPhone with some particular modifications to the antennae [sic]. We don’t expect a second, dramatically different iPhone to accompany this as we don’t think Apple needs to have 3 models in the market to address the high end, mid-tier and low end since the iPhone 4 (with memory lowered to 8 GB) will drop to $99 and effectively attack those markets.”

As VR-Zone reports, last week Intel revealed that their upcoming Ivy Bridge processors will support display with resolution of 4096x4096 pixel and also they will be capable to process video data at this resolution.

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Expecting the Apple’s annual fall press conference, most of the rumors, related to the iPhone and iPod touch, were focused on the next iPhone revision, but we heard very little information about the next-gen iPod touch.  MacRumors has obtained information indicating that the next iPod touch would be little changed. An oleophobic coating for the display and a revised ambient light sensor will be the main differences from the current generation iPod touch. New iPod touch screens could be installed onto the existing fourth-generation iPod touches. Apple is also expected to introduce white model of the device. Leaked white parts for the iPod touched started appearing on different websites in July, suggesting that Apple was working on the white model of the iPod touch. The new models are expected to be announced alongside the iPhone in the first week of October with availability in the middle of the month.

The photo above was posted on Chinese site Weibo. It shows what is thought to be components of Apple’s yet to be released next-gen iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S.

We can see the already familiar to us Apple dual core "A5" CPU, just like in iPad 2. However the chipset is not from an iPad 2 since it looks rather different. The layout looks more like the current iPhone 4′s A4 chipset. The visible part of the battery reads “430 mAh”, which leads us to believe that next iPhone will have 1430 mAh battery, which is slightly better than the iPhone 4′s 1420 mAh battery.

Unfortunately there is no proof this photo is real. One more reason to be skeptical - the photo is quite blur, while we can see A5 very well. What do you think, Fake or not?

Take a look at more comparison pictures:

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9to5Mac reports that Apple indeed prepares two new iPhone models: the "low-end" iPhone 4-look alike, and the teardrop shaped iPhone 5 (see above). iPhone 5 is said to appear only in 2012 due to design and production delays. However this lower-end iPhone (the iPhone 4S) is already being produced in high quantities, with 10 million expected on launch day.

The iPhone 5 itself is a sight to behold, we’ve been told.  It is impossibly light, yet much firmer than Samsung Galaxy phones which are backed in plastic.  The camera rivals point and shoot cameras and will be a major marketing point for this device. It appears that the tear-drop shaped iPhone 5 with larger screen and thinner, rounder body is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line (Apple has multiple production sources – Pegatron, Foxconn, etc). We therefore think that iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012.