iPhone 3G S processor specs: 600MHz CPU, 256MB of RAM

Apple's being pretty cagey with the hard specs of the iPhone 3G S, but apparently T-Mobile Netherlands didn't get the message -- it's just posted up a specs page listing 256MB of RAM and a 600MHz CPU. That's up from 128MB and 412MHz in the first-gen and the 3G, and it's basically exactly what was rumored. Of course, the 3G S also has that new PowerVR SGX graphics chip that supports OpenGL ES 2.0, so the total speed boost is probably more than just pure clock speed, but we'll find out for sure when we get our hands on one.

[Via iLounge]

[ChazClout @ Jun 10th 2009 1:07PM]

Twat!

[Abraham @ Jun 10th 2009 1:08PM]

so lame lol.

[Abraham @ Jun 10th 2009 1:09PM]

Another rumor confirmed!

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 2:09PM]

But... but... the Apple Haters said the new iPhone sucked because it didn't live up to the rumors. But just so we have a tally going, these are the improvements that "disappointed" so many of the Apple Haters.

32 GB flash drive
Cut, Copy & Paste
GPS Turn by Turn
Voice Dial Commands
Voice Commands for Music
Voice Memos
Aufofill for Safari
Stereo Bluetooth
Automatic Wi-Fi Login
Nike + integration
Support for Peer-to-Peer Games
Parental Controls
Shake to Shuffle
Moblie Me Find My iPhone
Landscape Keyboards for Mail, Messages, and Notes
Enhanced Stocks App
Spotlight Search
Ability to buy Films, TV Programs and Audiobooks
Digital Compass
Tethering
MMS
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
3 Megapixel Camera
600MHz CPU
256MB of RAM
OpenGL ES 2.0
Video with and geotagging, automatic focus, white balance, & exposure, at 30 FPS VGA

[godisgov @ Jun 10th 2009 2:22PM]

@ Paul

If Apple pays you to make these posts, you are doing a fine job.

If you have no affiliation with Apple and you come here to post comment after comment, while up Apple's ass, that's pretty sad.

For your sake, I hope you realize sooner, rather than later, that you only get one life and the time you put into all these pro-Apple posts is a waste of your life.

[Mizzike @ Jun 10th 2009 2:23PM]

@Paul a Chapel

You do know 90% of those improvements are either outdated, something apple should have done in the first place, or completely meaningless to how we use our iphones.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 2:24PM]

Brother, conquer thy hate with love.

[Techie @ Jun 10th 2009 2:27PM]

@Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 2:09PM

The new iPhone 3GS isn't anything new but... it's just stuff we have already seen. The reason why most people buys the iPhone is Apple's ad campaign and there's not a lot of options that the average Americans get to see but now I can see a change of scenery because there's starting to be more phones that we aren't even suppose to get. So call us Apple or iPhone haters...

32 GB flash drive > Phones like the Samsung i8910 32GB has it Plus MicroSD slots giving it a rough 64GB capicity
Cut, Copy & Paste > Most smart phones already have this option, Apple was late on it.
GPS Turn by Turn > Again, nothing new
Voice Dial Commands > Still nothing new…
Voice Commands for Music > Do I need to say again? Even Sony Ericsson has a shake option to change songs.
Voice Memos > Ahh…. You know!
Aufofill for Safari > Mobile Firefox ftw!
Stereo Bluetooth > You make me laugh
Automatic Wi-Fi Login > Ahh…. Duh?
Nike + integration > You beat me on this one, we don’t have this… =/
Support for Peer-to-Peer Games > Not really….
Parental Controls > We got it but what kind of parent would buy their kid a 300+ phone?
Shake to Shuffle > Read my comment up there from Sony Ericsson, Apple just copies
Moblie Me Find My iPhone > Sony linked system has this already.
Landscape Keyboards for Mail, Messages, and Notes > Already been done.
Enhanced Stocks App > Outdated
Spotlight Search > Seriously?
Ability to buy Films, TV Programs and Audiobooks > Don’t have this so you beat me.
Digital Compass > Old stuff man, old stuff
Tethering > Blah?
MMS > Are you blind!
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating > Obviously we already have this already
3 Megapixel Camera > Try to beat 8MP or 12MP =D
600MHz CPU > Ha! We got 620Mhz!
256MB of RAM > 384MB! HA!
OpenGL ES 2.0 > Lameee…
Video with and geotagging, automatic focus, white balance, & exposure, at 30 FPS VGA > Extremely old stuff and not even in HD!

[Prokanda @ Jun 10th 2009 2:30PM]

uhm. paul?

I know you're a troll, but I still think you're getting caught up in yourself. I'm looking to get an iphone 3Gs since it *FINALLY* has some features that it should have had at launch, but that doesn't forgive the fact that it took them 2+ years to figure out:

-cut/copy/paste (c'mon now)
-voice dial?!
-voice memos?!
-text autofill
-stereo BT (on the "jesus" phone/device made by the top pmp company?!)
-landscape keyboard (for a phone with no physical keyboard?!)
-tethering
-MMS?!?! (what the fuck... and it won't work at the launch of 3.0/3Gs thanks to ATT)
-3mp cam? really? still with no flash?
-video

these are things that should have been there at launch or at least added before now. but instead it took forever and some of these features won't even be available to the people who paid for the iphone... twice by now if they upgraded to the 3G from the original.

as I stated, I'll be getting one... but that doesn't mean myself or anyone else has forgotten the fumble that apple's made with some of the features.

[murmermer @ Jun 10th 2009 2:32PM]

since everything the iPhone does is outdated or been done before... what PDA allows TbT directions and auto rotates the map based on the direction you're facing (like a dedicated GPS unit)?

[Ethan @ Jun 10th 2009 2:33PM]

Paul, listing all the little things just makes the big things look as small. Lots of people will see your massive comment, but they'll reject it out of hand. If you want to root for the iPhone (or anything really), it helps to be clear, and concise.

[Jaxim @ Jun 10th 2009 2:35PM]

With the faster new hardware, why no multi-tasking like the Pre and a dozen other phones. If Apple included that feature, it would have cinched it for me and others on the fence of getting an iPhone versus another device.

Too bad the battery life still kind of sucks for talk time. Plus, there was no mention of a hardware change to fix the lousy phone coverage the iPhone sometimes gets in areas. Some people (fanboys) blame the lousy coverage entirely on AT&T but I have a non-iPhone phone on AT&T and I get great coverage, which leads me to think that the iPhone is at least partly to blame.

[ghosts6 @ Jun 10th 2009 2:35PM]

@ Techie

If Sony pays you to make these posts, you are doing a fine job.

If you have no affiliation with Sony and you come here to post comment after comment, while up Sony's ass, that's pretty sad.

For your sake, I hope you realize sooner, rather than later, that you only get one life and the time you put into all these pro-Sony posts is a waste of your life.

[ash @ Jun 10th 2009 2:38PM]

@Techie

There's the small problem of those features not being in the iPhone and, instead, other phones you mention. If you don't see how this is the most important aspect of the announcement then you just don't get it. Just like an improved version of Leopard isn't going to matter to someone in an exclusively Windows environment, features that are old to other phones and new to the iPhone aren't going to matter to the iPhone folks... they're new features to the iPhone and that's all that matters.

I don't speak for all iPhone users but if I hear about some new feature on another platform's phone it doesn't matter a whole lot to me other than possibly clamoring for a comparable feature on the next iteration of iPhone OSX or hardware.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 2:41PM]

Man, looks like a hit a nerve. But everyone jumping into say "such and such phone had this ages ago!" still don't get it. Remember the iPod, guys? Many companies had released MP3 players before Apple as well, but it didn't matter because other MP3 players SUCKED!

Most iPhone users DON'T CARE if a certain feature has been on other phones. Those platforms aren't as polished. More often than not the implementation on the another platform WILL SUCK and make it unusable.

Lots of phones had browsers before the iPhone, but with only one problem. THEY SUCKED! No one wanted to use it, so when Apple finally did it, they did it in a way that DIDN'T SUCK, thereby making it relevant. And for every feature that Apple adds that was on another platform before, there's something like Visual Voicemail or Multi-touch (lest we forget, the iPhone was the FIRST Multi-touch phone) that totally changes the game.

I'm just telling it like it is. Don't Chapel Hate.

[derX @ Jun 10th 2009 2:43PM]

Paul, so many of the things you've mentioned are updates with software. People were looking for hardware updates. Off the top of my head, all the hardware updates I can think of are the ones mentioned in the above article, HSPA 7.2 support (which I am not entirely sure the 3G wasn't capable of), a better battery, the modest camera increase, and that oddly included compass.

This was a lot more of a refresh than it was a real upgrade.

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 2:56PM]

@derX, who said: "This was a lot more of a refresh than it was a real upgrade."

Right, they changed the processor, RAM, flash drive, OS and added a compass, but that's not a real upgrade. Where the heck do you guys come up with this stuff? There's disagreement and then there's insanity.

Also, remember Apple never promised anybody anything. All these people pissed about OLED screens and multi-core processors need to show me the press release where Apple promised that stuff. Even I was HOPING for something like multi-core, but I'm not going to be pissed about it. If you're going to be pissed about something, be pissed about the late notification system.

My biggest gripe is that the Apple Haters pretend that they were "disappointed." What BS. You guys would have bashed the new iPhone no matter what they released. They could have released an iPhone with a battery that had a 50 year charge and you guys would have been saying, "WTF? Why doesn't it have 51 years?"

[Duke @ Jun 10th 2009 3:15PM]

"My biggest gripe is that the Apple Haters pretend that they were "disappointed." What BS. You guys would have bashed the new iPhone no matter what they released."

You guys love to jump on his ass all the time, but I have to agree with what he's saying here. There is a lot of auto-hate for the iPhone around here too, and for everyone that kisses Apple's butt, there are an equal amount of people who will talk smack. Stop acting like it didn't give you enough when you never cared what they would offer in the first place. There are people looking silly on both sides of the fanboy spectrum here.

[Jason @ Jun 10th 2009 3:19PM]

Guys I just want to point out a small detail.
Apple is newcomer to the mobile business right?
I agree that some features were supposed to be there from the beginning,
but I think they didn't have enough coders to code the features, no?
The way they implement features that were already available on other mobile platforms is arguably pretty slick, no?
Also many consumers (Not us tech guys) didn't even know their phones had those features, no?

[Paul a. Chapel @ Jun 10th 2009 3:28PM]

@Jason

Thank you. I've been saying that FOREVER. This is why Apple is going to sell bazillion of these things, but I don't think it's necessarily that people didn't know these features were available, they didn't CARE until Apple made them care. I was aware of many features on smartphones, but they just never looked attractive to me. The iPhone made a bunch of geeky tech sexy.

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 10th 2009 3:31PM]

The 600Mhz Cortex-A8 is plenty fast for now, especially considering that Apple won't skimp on battery life. The only thing they could have done is jack the clock-speed to 800mhz or so.

The only chips faster than the one in the iPhone 3GS that will be available in 2009 are the 45nm versions of OMAP3 (1.0Ghz) and Qualcomm Snapdragon.(up to 1.3Ghz). The dual-core Cortex-A9 chips are not ready for production yet.

In 2010, the dual-core, 45nm OMAP4 and dual-core 45nm Qualcomm Snapdragon chips will be out. I'm sure the iPhone will upgrade next summer.

[superhobo @ Jun 10th 2009 3:56PM]

To everyone who responded to Pauls drivel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETO3-MxMe2Q

[Cheddar @ Jun 10th 2009 4:07PM]

Paul you touched a nerve with the palm/microsoft/nokia/etc ilk on the site...too funny!!

Amazing all the people here that don't get it...Paul, you keep on posting, and Apple will keep on dominating the market (define it however you want to prove your own points).

Ask anyone on the street if Apple has impacted the cell/smart phone market and you will hear a resounding YES. Then ask if that impact is for the better or worse and you will get a big old BETTER. Piss and moan all you want, Apple has changed the game, old tech, new tech no difference, Apple combined it all to make something special. You can accept the fact (love Apple or hate them) or you can live your life in denial...

[roole @ Jun 10th 2009 4:13PM]

Go Paul!

[jimmy @ Jun 10th 2009 5:07PM]

man, you guys are (A) harsh, and (B) probably lonely.

Why do people constantly read these posts (or, not read them) and then just type whatever crap pops into their head?

I love my iPhone. I ordered a 32GB 3G S yesterday. Why? Because i want more speed, more capacity, and more features. Yes, these features are a little late, but lets pull out a third generation WinMo phone, and see how it changed from a first gen WinMo Phone... It's called evolution of a product.

If you don't like Apple products, you can skip the posts here on Engadget, or anywhere else. You can even tell your RSS reader to automatically delete posts with Apple in the title.

i think i'm going to head over to PreCentral and troll about no video, no peer-to-peer, 8GB storage, middling keyboards, no Apps, etc..... Oh, wait, no I won't, because I encourage innovation and freedom of choice.

[bjsguess @ Jun 10th 2009 5:20PM]

For the first time in my life I'm agreeing with Paul.

I don't want an iPhone. Don't need one. I certainly do not consider it the best tech for a mobile professional. However, it is being really petty to rip on the upgrades. Apple addressed many of the issues that people have had since day 1. It took longer than it should have and I do take exception to all the hype, but the fact is that Apple delivered. A majority of complaints that people have had (myself included) have been addressed. Apple deserves some credit for adding these incremental upgrades.

[sweet greggo @ Jun 10th 2009 7:53PM]

@Duke

No one hates Apple products, just the people that use them.

[cannedpeople @ Jun 10th 2009 8:16PM]

Paul, I recognize that you're being antagonistic (as your response to "another rumor confirmed" is a direct attack on other peoples' points of view that nobody has made yet) but it would be great for you to stop talking on behalf of iphone fans/users and bring things back into the realm of your own personal opinions. I am an iphone user and I was a little bit disappointed with apple's announcements.

I just don't feel like the upgrade per dollar ratio is high enough to warrant buying one. This is horribly compounded by AT&T's upgrade policy (I'm not a full year into my iphone contract so it would be cheaper for me to cancel my account and then re-up with AT&T but lose my phone number by hundreds of dollars). I may upgrade when my account is up with AT&T... but by then I'm guessing there will be other phones with large enough app selection and slick enough interfaces that the iPhone 3G S will not be worth it.

It's also worth noting that a few of your listed upgrades are not 3GS specific (cut/copy/paste is 3.0 os specific and that's a free upgrade that we already knew about for months now).

[allislost @ Jun 11th 2009 12:34AM]

Wtf is wrong with everyone! Stop giving Paul a reason to continue posting.

Either he's getting paid to post, is a troll, or is a very sad individual with nothing else going in his life, a guy furiously masturbating to pictures of steve jobs while plunging his beloved iphone deep into his ass.

Leave that poor gaping fool alone...

[ALBGunner04 @ Jun 10th 2009 1:10PM]

Good for you.

[Giga @ Jun 10th 2009 1:10PM]

Looks good.

[Saad Rabia @ Jun 10th 2009 1:38PM]

Not only looks good, but wins me better!

I fought the iPhone for the past two years for the lack of a lot of things, and I always envied iPhone users for the beautiful unified store they have, but now, I welcome iPhone to my life. These additions and hardware improvements blew me away, not the fact that they just added copy and paste, but for the full package that I will get with iPhone 3GS.

Bye bye Samsung Omnia, you were a good mate for the past 7 months and bye bye Windows Mobile for giving me a reason to use my brain, but I think enough is enough.

iPhone 3GS is exactly what I wanted from any, I repeat, ANY mobile phone I've ever thought of or used. Pre had a chance, but only against the iPhone 3G.

:)

[Sisyphus @ Jun 10th 2009 1:46PM]

This does look good.

I just checked out Anandtech's rundown of the new specs.

I'll always be baffled by people who get really attached to gimmicks and other silly rumors. This is perhaps the most meaningful upgrade the iPhone could have received (with the exception of the OLED screen... but lets be honest, the iPhone still has one of the best looking screens out there). I bitch about Apple a lot, but when my friend whipped out his 3G at a party, I wanted to hold it and play with it.

Accelerating the already smooth interface with beefier hardware stats is a GREAT upgrade! Similarly, I'd rather have a better processor in my laptop than a webcam.

I just saw the Palm Pre today at lunch, and I love it. As much as I don't want to be a part of "the cult," the iPhone is a serious contender for my money. Right now the only thing holding me back is my positive experience with Sprint and the fact that owning a Pre will be MUCH cheaper over the entire lifecycle.

[whowhatme @ Jun 10th 2009 2:01PM]

@sisyphus "I bitch about Apple a lot, but when my friend whipped out his 3G at a party, I wanted to hold it and play with it."

...that's what she said :D

[becu55 @ Jun 10th 2009 2:05PM]

SAAD WOULD NEVER SAY THAT, YOU IMPOSTOR!

[Richard @ Jun 10th 2009 2:45PM]

Saad, I'm with you on this one. I held off these past years but went ahead and preordered the GS yesterday. I need that app store... that was the clincher for me.

[superhobo @ Jun 10th 2009 3:27PM]

Bunch of traitors.

Enjoy your efficient multi tasking.

[Malkmus @ Jun 10th 2009 4:05PM]

I might be converting with you all on this one too. I've got the N97 preordered, but right now the only thing holding me on to Symbian is the tethering. So once ATT allows it with the iphone I might make the jump. Depends on the pricing though (of tethering).

[Chris @ Jun 10th 2009 7:44PM]

You could always just jailbrake it and use pdanet for tethering. It works surprisingly well on the few occasions I need it.

[Ethan @ Jun 10th 2009 1:11PM]

The old one was about 600MHz but underclocked, is this one running full speed? And I do wonder who's manufacturing it?

[Phoenix @ Jun 10th 2009 1:24PM]

Yeah. I'd been gonna say that.

[sk @ Jun 10th 2009 1:24PM]

The iPhone 3G S uses a 32-bit ARM Cortex A8 RISC processor -- the same used in Palm's headline-grabbing Pre. Unlike the 412 MHz ARM11 processor used in the original iPhone and iPhone 3G which is a single-issue in-order design, the Cortex A8 is a two-issue order design with a longer, 13 stage pipeline. The Cortex A8 also has a beefed up SIMD engine called NEON and more robust FPU performance.

From Dailytech.com

[Ethan @ Jun 10th 2009 1:26PM]

Ah. So the 2x speed estimate might not be too far off?

[sk @ Jun 10th 2009 1:32PM]

No it's not. If you're interested check out this detailed review from anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3579

[loosely_coupled @ Jun 10th 2009 3:23PM]

This is a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PROCESSOR! It uses the ARM Cortex-A8 which is TWICE as fast as ARM11 per clock. It is a dual-issue, superscalar, 8-stage pipeline with SIMD engine. The 600Mhz Cortex-A8 in the iPhone 3GS is basically equal to a 1200mhz ARM11 chip.
Additionally, the graphics core is now PowerVR SGX 520 or 530.

This is basically the same hardware as the Palm Pre, which is the best hardware in any smartphone currently for sale. New OMAP3 or Snapdragon phones will be out soon with faster clocks however.

[NuShrike @ Jun 12th 2009 2:45AM]

Don't forget the old proverb "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush". You can get Snapdragon-class performance NOW, as well as a OS that takes full-advantage of it versus the Snapdragon/WM7 vaporware whoknowswhenitwillcome.

[Blacky @ Jun 10th 2009 1:11PM]

Now, if they would just add a proper camera with flash and drop the price to 400 dollars unlocked -> I'm sold ! :-)

Note: I actually use the camera on my phone very often, it's not the quality of a proper camera but it sure beats carrying one around with your all the time.

[Dean @ Jun 10th 2009 1:18PM]

You can be absolutely positive the iPhone will never has something as gimmicky as an onboard phone flash (especially since phone flashes are usually just bright LEDs that turn on for 10 seconds around a photo and rarely have the brightness and diffusion to be effective). You may get lucky and find that someone will make a third party accessory that plugs into the dock connector though.

[kjb434 @ Jun 10th 2009 1:21PM]

LED flashes in Blackberry phones actually work pretty well.

[Willis @ Jun 10th 2009 1:26PM]

Buy an LED keychain... same thing.