A new report is today suggesting that the new iPhone 5 will utilize a brand new A6 system-on-a-chip (SoC) processor. The rumor stems from 9to5Mac contributor Sonny Dickson, who has posted a picture of what appears to be the main logic board destined for the iPhone 5, with the cover of the main processor removed so that the A6-designated chip is viewable.
No details are offered on the chip, but since it has a different designation than the one found in the iPad 3, the A5X chip, it is assumed that it is highly distinct from the chip found in that device. The A5X chip is clocked at 1GHz and is a dual core CPU with a quad core GPU, built using a 45 nm process. What is interesting is that, alongside the new iPad in which the A5X is found, Apple released an updated version of the iPad 2 which included an A5 chip with a 32 nm process, as opposed to the 45nm process A5 found in the original iPad 2. It is worth suggesting, therefore, that the A6 could be engineered using a 32nm process.
There is no word on the authenticity of the image, but it isn’t out of the realms of possibility that the A6 is the chip destined for the next iPhone. However, it does seem that any part leaks appear to be photographed using a very dodgy camera, when one would assume that most people in contact with the Apple supply chain have an iPhone 4 or a 4S which would therefore result in better images. Since the image above appears to have been taken as a single frame out of a demagnetized VHS tape, doubts remain on its validity.
Well Taped…