Apple iPhone Update: Whats changed since the iPhone 4
Back in 2010 we did a write up on the many processors in each iPhone for each version through the iPhone 4. Since then Apple has released the iPhone 4 (CDMA) and the mid-cycle refresh iPhone 4S. Seeing as the iPhone 5 should be released on September 12th here is a quick update to bring our table up to date.
CPUs by function and generation of iPhone:
| Function | 2G | 3G | 3GS | 4 | 4-CDMA | 4S |
| App Processor | Samsung S3C6400 400-412MHz ARM1176JZ | Samsung S3C6400 400-412MHz ARM1176JZ | Samsung S5PC100 600MHZ ARM Cortex A8 | Apple A4 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 | Apple A4 800MHz ARM Cortex A8 | Apple A5 900Mhz Dual core ARM Cortex-A9 |
| Baseband | S-GOLD2 ARM926EJ-S <200MHz | Infineon X-Gold 608 ARM926 312MHz + ARM7TDMI-S | Infineon X-Gold 608 ARM926 312MHz + ARM7TDMI-S | X-Gold 618 ARM1176 416MHz | Qualcomm MDM6600 ARM1136JS 512MHz | Qualcomm MDM6610 ARM1136JS 512MHz |
| GPS | NA | Infineon HammerHead II | Infineon HammerHead II | BCM4750 (no CPU core) | see above | see above |
| Bluetooth | BlueCore XA-RISC | BlueCore XA-RISC | BCM4325 (2 CPU cores) | BCM4329 (2 CPU cores) | BCM4329 (2 CPU Cores) | BCM4330ARM Cortex-M3 + Bluetooth CPU |
| Wifi | Marvell 88W8686 Feroceon ARMv5 128MHz | Marvell 88W8686 Feroceon ARMv5 128MHz | see above | see above | see above | see above |
| TouchScreen | Multi-chip | BCM5974 | TI | TI | TI | TI |
| OS | Nucleus by Mentor Graphics | Nucleus | Nucleus | ThreadX by ExpressLogic | REX by Qualcomm | REX by Qualcomm |
| Total Cores | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Apple iPhone 4 CDMA
The CDMA version of the iPhone 4 switched from an Infineon X-Gold baseband to a Qualcomm MDM6600 running a 512MHz ARM1136JS core. Interestingly this baseband supports GSM but due to antenna issues it is not implemented here. The Qualcomm Gobi, as it is known, also has integrated GPS, removing the need for the old Broadcom BCM4750. This sets the stage for the iPhone 4S.
Apple iPhone 4S
The 4S uses the Qualcomm MDM6610 which is the same as the MDM6600 with the addition of increased radio support. Obviously the biggest change is in the Applications Processor. This is now the Apple A5, dual core ARM Cortex-A9 running at 900MHz and fab’d by Samsung in 45nm originally, and now in 32nm. The Bluetooth and WLAN support has also been increased with the use of a Broadcom BCM4330 which uses a ARM Cortex-M3 for handling WLAN functions and a separate CPU for Bluetooth (now supporting up to version 4.0). Total core count has increased to 6 from 5 of the previous iPhone 4 models. Still less then the 7 cores needed to run the iPhone 3 and 3GS. Look to see some similar chips in the coming iPhone 5, likely the same BCM4330 with an upgraded Baseband and Applications Processors.
