iPhone 2014: It's time.

[Childs]

Looks like we got a weiner:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34T80iLYojk

The new case is amazing!

Not as big as I thought it would be...

 

[NoStateofMind]

Not as big as I thought it would be...

That's what she said?

 

[Eug]

I suspect there will be more than the iPhone 6 and iOS 8.

iWatch/iBand/iBracelet/iShackle?

Note that the venue they chose this year is much larger.

 

[TreVader]

A8 Quad core @1.1Ghz
2GB 1866 LPDDR3
4.7" screen @ 330-360ppi
Base 32GB up to 128
11 megapixel with Ois


5.5" same specs but clocked 200mhz higher.
450+Ppi for all the spec nuts

 

[gevorg]

1GB of RAM D:

 

[Eug]

1GB of RAM D:

And 16 GB entry level.

I'm suspicious of the 1 GB claim though, since the pic is off kilter, and 8 (1 GB) looks an awful lot like B (2 GB). Hopefully it's not just my wishful thinking it's actually a B though.

 

[Ichinisan]

1GB of RAM D:

I find that hard to believe; especially after seeing some of the stuff iOS8 does with your photos. I'm 100% sure the new models will have 2GB minimum. They probably have some memory built-in to the chip package for lower latency and another 1-2 GB on the board near the A8 chip.

 

[ViRGE]

And 16 GB entry level.

I'm suspicious of the 1 GB claim though, since the pic is off kilter, and 8 (1 GB) looks an awful lot like B (2 GB). Hopefully it's not just my wishful thinking it's actually a B though.

I'm with you. If it doesn't have 2GB then Apple has saved me $650 this year.

 

[mmntech]

Well I zoomed the picture in and it definitely looks like an "8" to me, and not a "B". I wouldn't be shocked if it contains just 1GB. Apple is notoriously stingy with RAM.

What I have heard from A7 device owners is the devices bog down quite often. Probably having to do with iOS having to load both 64-bit and 32-bit binaries, since most non-Apple apps are still 32-bit. Even my iPad 3 throws up memory warnings if I try to open more than four browser tabs.

Whether it's a big issue on a phone is a bit of a moot point. However, if you're charging $719 for a phone, it damn well better have more than 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

 

[Ichinisan]

Well I zoomed the picture in and it definitely looks like an "8" to me, and not a "B". I wouldn't be shocked if it contains just 1GB. Apple is notoriously stingy with RAM.

What I have heard from A7 device owners is the devices bog down quite often. Probably having to do with iOS having to load both 64-bit and 32-bit binaries, since most non-Apple apps are still 32-bit. Even my iPad 3 throws up memory warnings if I try to open more than four browser tabs.

Whether it's a big issue on a phone is a bit of a moot point. However, if you're charging $719 for a phone, it damn well better have more than 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

iPhone has never had the same memory capacity across 3 product cycles.

iPhone / Phone 3G - 128MB?
iPhone 3GS - 256MB?
iPhone 4 / 4S - 512MB
iPhone 5 / 5s - 1GB

 

[Ichinisan]

Even if there's 1GB memory in the A8 package, there could be another 1GB outside the package.

Is there precedent causing people to speculate about the markings? I don't understand why Apple's chip package would use Hynix's memory marking convention anyway.

 

[Eug]

iPhone has never had the same memory capacity across 3 product cycles.

iPhone / Phone 3G - 128MB?
iPhone 3GS - 256MB?
iPhone 4 / 4S - 512MB
iPhone 5 / 5s - 1GB

Good point, and yes, your summary above is correct.

That said, there's always a first time.

 

[screwd01]

Anyone think if there is a 5.5" model that it could get 2gb as a differentiator from the 4.7"? Everything else could be the same but the 5.5" would be $100 more.

 

[Eug]

Anyone think if there is a 5.5" model that it could get 2gb as a differentiator from the 4.7"? Everything else could be the same but the 5.5" would be $100 more.

I think that would be a bad idea. Then you'd have two flagship phones of the same generation with vastly different memory amounts.

 

[mmntech]

Could be possible if they market it as a phablet. Same hardware as the iPad Mini. I doubt that will happen though.

 

[Eug]

The 5.5" is a phablet. But the phablet is an iPhone, not an iPad. It makes no sense for it to have twice the RAM of the 4.7" model iPhone.

 

[mmntech]

I guess we'll find out for sure a week Tuesday.

 

[Eug]

I guess we'll find out for sure a week Tuesday.

Probably not, because they don't usually announce these things at these events. We'll have to wait until we see an in-depth a review from a place like AnandTech.

As far as Apple is concerned, RAM isn't something end users care about in phones or tablets. There is no mention of this word at all on the iPhone and iPad pages.

 

[jpiniero]

Anyone think if there is a 5.5" model that it could get 2gb as a differentiator from the 4.7"? Everything else could be the same but the 5.5" would be $100 more.

Different memory sizes would be strange, but there was talk that the iPhone Air would have a different chip than the 6; ie: perhaps a larger GPU.

 

[Eug]

Different memory sizes would be strange, but there was talk that the iPhone Air would have a different chip than the 6; ie: perhaps a larger GPU.

Would it be necessary to have an A6X with more robust GPU? That would give credence to the rumours that the 5.5" model would have a higher resolution than the 4.7" model.

BTW, a few of the things holding back more memory in the 4.0" iPhone 5s were probably:

1) Cost
2) Logic board real estate
3) Battery capacity

However:

1) Memory cost is lower in 2014.
2) The 4.7" and 5.5" phones are way bigger, but most of the components don't need to increase in size, freeing up room inside.
4) The 4.7" and 5.5" phones have more battery capacity, and it's possibly that it's not all allocated to the screen and SoC, etc. Perhaps a small chunk of that is to support more RAM.

 

[CZroe]

Different memory sizes would be strange, but there was talk that the iPhone Air would have a different chip than the 6; ie: perhaps a larger GPU.

The larger phone would NOT be the "Air." They are planning a 12" iPad Pro to go with the iPad Air and iPad mini. They already have a 15" and 13.3" MacBook Pro to go with a 13.3" and 11.6" MacBook Air.

If anything, the 5.5" iPhone will be "Pro," the 4.7" will be "Air," and the 4" (or back down to 3.5"?) 5C-successor will be "mini."

Now, rumor is that they are trying to bump the 11.6" MacBook Air up to 12.1" (same size with smaller bezels). They might be getting ready to introduce a MacBook mini too (they already have a Mac mini). I'm thinkin' 8.9" to 10.2", most likely 4:3 aspect like the iPad.

 

[recoil80]

Probably not, because they don't usually announce these things at these events. We'll have to wait until we see an in-depth a review from a place like AnandTech.

As far as Apple is concerned, RAM isn't something end users care about in phones or tablets. There is no mention of this word at all on the iPhone and iPad pages.

You are right. We'll have to wait a few more days to find out more about A8, including RAM, clock, GPU cores etc.

I think they ought to put 2GB this time, even if the OS is optimised it still needs RAM. In Mavericks they introduced memory compression, but I'm not sure they can apply it to iOS and expect it to work the same way.

 

[Ichinisan]

You are right. We'll have to wait a few more days to find out more about A8, including RAM, clock, GPU cores etc.

I think they ought to put 2GB this time, even if the OS is optimised it still needs RAM. In Mavericks they introduced memory compression, but I'm not sure they can apply it to iOS and expect it to work the same way.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure we'll get 2GB, but we probably won't know until some really technical people get to test their own code on the device. As far as I know, Apple never reports memory capacity for their iDevices.

I had to laugh when reading Internet comments a couple years ago from folks who assumed the iPhone 5 was only 512MB after Apple's announcement -- and complained loudly.

Recently, the latest iPad and the latest iPhone typically have equal RAM capacity, but that hasn't always been the case. The first iPad came out with an A4 processor several months before the iPhone 4 (Apple eventually tightened their product release cycles). It had only 256MB while the iPhone 4 had 512MB. The iPod touch 4th gen had only 256MB.

A4 - 256MB

• iPad
• iPod touch 4th gen
  (and these guys can't run iOS7)

A4 - 512 MB

• iPhone 4

A5 - 512MB

• iPhone 4s
• iPad 2
• iPad mini
• iPod touch 5th gen

A5X - 1GB

• The New iPad (third gen, Retina)

A6 - 1GB

• iPhone 5
• iPhone 5c
• iPad 4th generation (A6X, Lightning)

A7 - 1GB

• iPhone 5s
• iPad Air (fifth gen)
• iPad mini (second gen, Retina)

I don't want to try to fit-in the A4/A5(single-core) Apple TVs. No clue about their memory capacity, but it's not standard iOS anyway, so there's no sense comparing them.

The point is: A5 generally means "512MB" across all products. A6 and A7 generally means "1GB" across all products. That makes things easier for developers too.

 

[Eug]

The point is: A5 generally means "512MB" across all products. A6 and A7 generally means "1GB" across all products. That makes things easier for developers too.

I understand, but the concern here is that Apple will simply say that A8 means 1 GB across all products too, which would suck.

However, despite all the clues/leaks so far for 1 GB in A8 devices, I'm just going to refuse to believe them until I see teardowns.

You are right. We'll have to wait a few more days to find out more about A8, including RAM, clock, GPU cores etc.

I think they ought to put 2GB this time, even if the OS is optimised it still needs RAM. In Mavericks they introduced memory compression, but I'm not sure they can apply it to iOS and expect it to work the same way.

I haven't seen any mention of memory compression in iOS 8 but I don't know for sure.

I'm thinking there would be too much of a CPU penalty on an iDevice to make this work in 2014, but I'm just guessing.

 

[CZroe]

1GB or 1.5GB, IMO. I have 3GB in my Gnote3 but 2GB is still considered high-end for Android flagship phones. Apple has never needed to match the memory capacity of competing Android flagships and Android flagships have typically had much more memory, so I don't see Apple moving to 2GB just yet.