Take this for what it is -- a totally unverified rumor from a Chinese forum -- but a set of specs for a next-gen iPhone have leaked out along with this screenshot, and they're not entirely far-fetched. According to the alleged leak, iPhone model MB717LL 9 (
"iPhone2,1" perhaps?) will have a 600MHz processor (up from the current 400MHz unit), 256MB of RAM (from the current 128MB), 32GB of storage, a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, as well as a digital compass and FM radio, all while retaining the same battery, basic shape, and screen size. Do we believe it? Well, if we were to conservatively guess at specs for a next-gen Apple phone that's pretty much what we'd come up with -- with the exception of FM -- so we're not shaking our heads too hard. Plus we've definitely seen evidence that a
compass will figure into the equation, and there's
endless whispers that the camera will
see an upgrade. Still, only Steve and the gang know for sure, and we're (probably) not finding out till they're ready --
WWDC, are you
here yet?
[Via
The iPhone Blog, thanks Brian]
posted May 12th 2009 12:17AM
That picture is completely photoshopped. Doesn't the OS itself take up more space than that?
If they hadn't said "FM", I might have believed it. I was going to say that to my knowledge, they had never integrated FM into any of their hardware products...but I looked it up, and I was wrong. Going into my search, I had assumed the HiFi was what would prove me incorrect, but imagine my disbelief when I discovered that not even the Apple Boombox known as the HiFi had a radio tuner. This feature was reserved for (to my knowledge) only one Apple product, the "20th Anniversary Mac".
All that said, I cannot imagine that Apple would ever include a radio tuner because in my opinion, they think of it as tarnishing the device...a feature that delivers low quality music on a powerful music player. That said, Jobs isn't exactly running Apple right now, is he?
how much better will this make the iphone?... is it worth getting one if these rumors are true?
Ex: http://viran.mobi
here are some more juicy details on the new iPhone!
http://www.l337tech.com/news/new-iphone-3rd-generation-with-iphone-os-30-available-in-june/
If they are going with a 600Mhz ARM CPU then that leaves only a few viable options. It has to stay backwards compatible so it will either be another ARM v6 CPU OR they are going to the Cortex CPU which is QUITE powerful. I'm an embedded programmer specializing in ARM optimizations so I work with these CPU's at the assembler level. I've been working with the OMAP 35xx series which feature the Cortex A8 CPU. These things are VERY poweful.
As for the video, I wonder if they are finally going to Open GL ES 2.0 spec. They currently run the PowerVR SBX chip which only supports a fixed-function 3D pipeline similar to what we saw on the PC back in the DirectX 7.0 days. But if they switched up to the MBX then they will have a programmable pipeline with shader model 1.x capability. We have some MBX parts here in the lab and while it's a good architecture the BIGGEST bottle neck is speed. Most of the manufacturers use system memory for storing textures and geometry. BAD idea. If Apple wants to do something right, it better include at least a few MB's of dedicated high-speed video RAM for textures. That would make a HUGE difference!
Oh and don't be so concerned about this being a power sucking machine. ARM CPU's are VERY good on power especially the newer parts coming out!