iPhone 5S impressions

[patsu]

For browsing, arguably I would say the A7 CPU is already "fast enough". It feels - at least to me - as if it is not the limit when surfing the web. Perhaps there are very script/HTML-heavy web pages where it slows down while rendering, but I've not noticed that in my own travels. The A4 obviously had a LOT of room for improvement in this regard, especially if you multitasked and ran a music player simultaneously and such. A7 however...not so much.

Of course, there's other venues through which to leverage computing power in a mobile device - photography most famously in the A7's case and we'll likely see more of that too in the future.


You seem to be correct there. Original Mini uses the A5 CPU (same as in iPad2, although shrunken down to a more recent silicon process it would seem).

A7 speed is mainly a godsend for the camera.

Second is productivity apps (e.g., my son use iMovie and Notion for his school project, my friend use iPad for word processing).

Third is multitasking, like some combo of Maps + in-car music playback + incoming phone call + Siri interpreting commands and switching apps. Happens to me quite often.

 

[ltcommander.data]

http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/28/apple...ssory-to-product-line-ahead-of-major-changes/

So another Apple TV becoming a game console rumour. This one makes a little bit more sense since they suggest that the Apple TV will integrate a 802.11ac router. This should reduce the latency of using an iDevice as a controller and there are now dedicated MFi controllers as well. Assuming the new Apple TV stays roughly the same size and they put an A7 in it, I wonder how much higher they can clock it from the estimated 1.4 GHz CPU/450 MHz GPU in the iPad Air? It could be that the large metal surface area of the iPad Air back is a more efficient cooling solution than a small plastic chassis if Apple sticks with that for the Apple TV.

 

[Entropy]

http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/28/apple...ssory-to-product-line-ahead-of-major-changes/

So another Apple TV becoming a game console rumour. This one makes a little bit more sense since they suggest that the Apple TV will integrate a 802.11ac router. This should reduce the latency of using an iDevice as a controller and there are now dedicated MFi controllers as well. Assuming the new Apple TV stays roughly the same size and they put an A7 in it, I wonder how much higher they can clock it from the estimated 1.4 GHz CPU/450 MHz GPU in the iPad Air?

"Can" or "will"? Currently, the AppleTV draws way less power than the iPad Air. I'm sure they want to stay a safe distance from heat generation that would require active cooling. If they used the A7 without modification in the next AppleTV, I wouldn't expect it to be clocked higher than in the iPhone.

 

[Grall]

It could be that the large metal surface area of the iPad Air back is a more efficient cooling solution than a small plastic chassis if Apple sticks with that for the Apple TV.

ATV top chassis is actually metal, partly for heat dissipation reasons I would think (since PSU is integrated), and also because of quality/appearance. The bottom plate is plastic - cost reasons no doubt, and also to allow wifi antenna to find coverage. You probably shouldn't put the ATV on a metal surface for that reason or reception might be exceedingly pap if you rely on wifi...

Probably, Apple would not upclock A7 in a theoretical new ATV model - they rarely if ever gun for absolute top performance. Even the new Mac Pro doesn't; it's high-end for sure, but the GPUs aren't top of the line, and there is just a single CPU socket. Graphics performance in their mobile devices might be the one exception here, they're certainly at the forefront there, if not dominating the pack entirely with the Rogue GPU in A7, I don't really study mobile benchmarks very closely.

 

[wco81]

http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/28/apple...ssory-to-product-line-ahead-of-major-changes/

So another Apple TV becoming a game console rumour. This one makes a little bit more sense since they suggest that the Apple TV will integrate a 802.11ac router. This should reduce the latency of using an iDevice as a controller and there are now dedicated MFi controllers as well. Assuming the new Apple TV stays roughly the same size and they put an A7 in it, I wonder how much higher they can clock it from the estimated 1.4 GHz CPU/450 MHz GPU in the iPad Air? It could be that the large metal surface area of the iPad Air back is a more efficient cooling solution than a small plastic chassis if Apple sticks with that for the Apple TV.

Unlikely to remain a $99 product if they throw in the A7 and a router.

Plus, it seems like the natural thing is to throw some storage on their and allow it to run apps, especially video apps, rather than using Airplay from an iPhone and iPad to put video on the big screen.

But wouldn't that make people less likely to buy mobile devices, particularly iPads, if AppleTV could just put on any video content on the big screen among all the video streaming apps. available for iOS?

 

[Grall]

No, you'd need some way of controlling the app running on your apple tv, meaning you need to buy an ipad as well.

2 birds 1 stone, pretty much.

 

[Pressure]

It may render web pages fast but the tabs reload a lot.

And iOS 7 on my iPad 3 will reload apps if you switch among 3 or 4 apps, go back to the first one.

That seems to point at lack of RAM, though there are reports that iOS 7.1 handles the reloading of the Safari tabs better.

Does it really show lack of RAM? Can't it be because of the new architecture? Or simply iOS 7 being rough around the edges? Or a combination?

I agree that my iPad Air reloads tabs faster (meant to say "more often") than my iPad 4.

 

[patsu]

http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/28/apple...ssory-to-product-line-ahead-of-major-changes/

So another Apple TV becoming a game console rumour. This one makes a little bit more sense since they suggest that the Apple TV will integrate a 802.11ac router. This should reduce the latency of using an iDevice as a controller and there are now dedicated MFi controllers as well. Assuming the new Apple TV stays roughly the same size and they put an A7 in it, I wonder how much higher they can clock it from the estimated 1.4 GHz CPU/450 MHz GPU in the iPad Air? It could be that the large metal surface area of the iPad Air back is a more efficient cooling solution than a small plastic chassis if Apple sticks with that for the Apple TV.

According to Jobs, the issue with TV innovation is not the technology. It's the Go To Market strategy.

No doubt Apple make sleek hardware. Will be more interesting to see their services.

Does it really show lack of RAM? Can't it be because of the new architecture? Or simply iOS 7 being rough around the edges? Or a combination?

I agree that my iPad Air reloads tabs faster than my iPad 4.

May be both. I suppose you'll find out when 7.1 and 8.0 are released.

 

[patsu]

Unlikely to remain a $99 product if they throw in the A7 and a router.

Plus, it seems like the natural thing is to throw some storage on their and allow it to run apps, especially video apps, rather than using Airplay from an iPhone and iPad to put video on the big screen.

But wouldn't that make people less likely to buy mobile devices, particularly iPads, if AppleTV could just put on any video content on the big screen among all the video streaming apps. available for iOS?

If they want to sell ATV beyond US coasts, I think they need to beef up ATV contents and features. All our US centric channels are not available overseas.

iPad and iPhone can sell themselves.

 

[fingertied typist]

^The growing ubiquity of services like Netflix may help with that, most likely Apple would probably produce it's own streaming service thereby equipping it's TVs with a robust range of content.

 

[UniversalTruth]

Guys, what do you think, why don't they put matte displays in mobile phones?

 

[silent_guy]

Guys, what do you think, why don't they put matte displays in mobile phones?

Because matte doesn't look as pretty and because it's a bit easier to reposition a phone than a monitor when reflections are bothersome.

 

[Grall]

The "mattedness" would wear off when you walk around with your phone in your pants pocket for months on end and look blotchy and reeeally ugly.

 

[UniversalTruth]

Because matte doesn't look as pretty and because it's a bit easier to reposition a phone than a monitor when reflections are bothersome.

The "mattedness" would wear off when you walk around with your phone in your pants pocket for months on end and look blotchy and reeeally ugly.

It is just your subjective opinion about what prettiness and ugliness actually mean. I can tell you that most of the time the reflections caused by a glare display are bothersome and you simply cannot escape or go around them, in no possible way, you just make the unpleasant experience a little less unpleasant but it is still unpleasant

Hope is that there will be a breakthrough soon, tho

Apple reveals sapphire covered iPhone display

Spoiler

Sapphire Windows

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published yet another sapphire-related Apple property, this time relating to cutting and processing wafers of the material for use in portable electronics. Although not the focus of the invention, Apple does mention that the sapphire window method can be applied to an iPhone's display. This is one of the first prominent mentions of a sapphire-covered screen to be found in the company's patent filings.

Simply titled "Sapphire Window," Apple's filing describes methods in which the hard material can be grown, harvested into polished wafers, decorated (painted or masked) and cut into discrete windows. As applied to portable electronics, the invention covers camera module covers, like those seen on the iPhone 5 and up, as well as device displays.

As noted in the application, sapphire has yet to see wide use in the consumer electronics industry due in part to the very properties that make it desirable. Since the material is so hard, conventional manufacturing techniques may not be effective in turning out a finished product. Tool wear is also a consideration when using conventional methods of cutting and shaping.

In one embodiment, a laser is used to cut through the sapphire wafer to yield a number of windows to be used in a device assembly. Various techniques are described, including the use of IR and pulse lasers of sufficient power to make clean cuts. Apple notes the use of lasers is both faster and more precise than CNC grinding methods.

As for harvesting sapphire, the property explains that the material can be grown and cored to form a core that can then be sliced into workable wafers. This method also includes lapping and polishing the wafers, as well as dicing via laser, to yield discrete windows.

Once the sapphire window is ground, polished, ablated and cut to size, various coatings or decorations may be applied to its surface. For example, ink masking or oleophobic coatings can be layered on one side of the sapphire.

Apple's sapphire window patent application was first filed for in 2012 and credits Christopher D. Prest, Ashutosh Y. Shukla, Dale N. Memering, Vashist Vasanthakumar, Vincent Yan and Thomas Johannessen as its inventors.

Earlier on thursday, documents surfaced relating to Apple's partnership with sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies. The packet outlined "Project Cascade," an advanced sapphire manufacturing facility in Mesa, Ariz., that Apple is pushing to get online as soon as February.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...components-vehicle-location-in-patent-filings

 

[Xmas]

You can always apply a matte screen protector. Sapphire is still polished, not matte.

 

[Helmore]

Wouldn't sapphire be even easier to crack than glass?

As for matte screens. Isn't the problem that it's also harder to implement right when you have a piece of glass covering the screen? If you make the top layer matte, you'd get a rough texture that would ruin the touch screen experience. Making any of the other layers matte wouldn't really serve much of a purpose, as you'd still have to deal with the reflexion of the glass. Another thing is that making the screen matte might cause your screen to appear more blurry (depending on the implementation), something that not everyone might appreciate. A matte screen that isn't blurry, being matte at the pixel level, would still mean you get the reflections from the glass layers.
That's just how I figure it would be. Maybe someone can show me a matte screen implementation that does have a cover glass and touch screen.

 

[Grall]

Wouldn't sapphire be even easier to crack than glass?

Perhaps, but I don't think the difference would make much of a difference in real life. If your glass fronted phone receives a blow it'll crack also. Where it would make a difference is scratch resistance. Sapphire is exceedingly hard, so very scratch resistant. Maybe if you take a screwdriver or similar to a sapphire screen you could do it, but for everyday scenarios it would be quite difficult. A mate of mine had a Seiko sapphire-fronted quartz wristwatch for many years (well over a decade at least) and there wasn't a single scratch visible to the naked eye on it.

I wouldn't worry about reflections on a matte touchscreen - typically, the LCD, touch digitizer layer and cover glass (sometimes digitizer is integrated without a separate piece of glass) are all glued together forming a solid, unified sheet that don't produce reflections. A matte top layer would appear blurry though, which could be an issue with today's very high-res phone displays. Fine details and text would lose sharpness. Also, the display would appear less bright as some light would be going off in random directions due to the uneven top surface, which would require stronger backlight intensity to compensate = higher power consumption...

Bad ideas all around IMO.

 

[UniversalTruth]

Also, the display would appear less bright as some light would be going off in random directions due to the uneven top surface, which would require stronger backlight intensity to compensate = higher power consumption...

Bad ideas all around IMO.

That is false... With matte displays and their quality implementation when it happens, you would actually be able to reduce the brightness thus the power consumption because of the lack of unnecessary reflections, especially in bright daylight

It is natural for a glare display to need higher brightness during daytime in order to compensate the surplus ambient light and reflections

 

[patsu]

It is just your subjective opinion about what prettiness and ugliness actually mean. I can tell you that most of the time the reflections caused by a glare display are bothersome and you simply cannot escape or go around them, in no possible way, you just make the unpleasant experience a little less unpleasant but it is still unpleasant

Hope is that there will be a breakthrough soon, tho

Apple reveals sapphire covered iPhone display

Spoiler

Sapphire Windows

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published yet another sapphire-related Apple property, this time relating to cutting and processing wafers of the material for use in portable electronics. Although not the focus of the invention, Apple does mention that the sapphire window method can be applied to an iPhone's display. This is one of the first prominent mentions of a sapphire-covered screen to be found in the company's patent filings.

Simply titled "Sapphire Window," Apple's filing describes methods in which the hard material can be grown, harvested into polished wafers, decorated (painted or masked) and cut into discrete windows. As applied to portable electronics, the invention covers camera module covers, like those seen on the iPhone 5 and up, as well as device displays.

As noted in the application, sapphire has yet to see wide use in the consumer electronics industry due in part to the very properties that make it desirable. Since the material is so hard, conventional manufacturing techniques may not be effective in turning out a finished product. Tool wear is also a consideration when using conventional methods of cutting and shaping.

In one embodiment, a laser is used to cut through the sapphire wafer to yield a number of windows to be used in a device assembly. Various techniques are described, including the use of IR and pulse lasers of sufficient power to make clean cuts. Apple notes the use of lasers is both faster and more precise than CNC grinding methods.

As for harvesting sapphire, the property explains that the material can be grown and cored to form a core that can then be sliced into workable wafers. This method also includes lapping and polishing the wafers, as well as dicing via laser, to yield discrete windows.

Once the sapphire window is ground, polished, ablated and cut to size, various coatings or decorations may be applied to its surface. For example, ink masking or oleophobic coatings can be layered on one side of the sapphire.

Apple's sapphire window patent application was first filed for in 2012 and credits Christopher D. Prest, Ashutosh Y. Shukla, Dale N. Memering, Vashist Vasanthakumar, Vincent Yan and Thomas Johannessen as its inventors.

Earlier on thursday, documents surfaced relating to Apple's partnership with sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies. The packet outlined "Project Cascade," an advanced sapphire manufacturing facility in Mesa, Ariz., that Apple is pushing to get online as soon as February.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...components-vehicle-location-in-patent-filings

Heard Sapphire is more scratch resistance.

It should remain polished.

I do wonder if Apple can make a panel that recognizes fingerprints and gestures with different fingers. e.g., tap with index finger vs tap with middle finger.

 

[Xmas]

Wouldn't sapphire be even easier to crack than glass?

As for matte screens. Isn't the problem that it's also harder to implement right when you have a piece of glass covering the screen? If you make the top layer matte, you'd get a rough texture that would ruin the touch screen experience. Making any of the other layers matte wouldn't really serve much of a purpose, as you'd still have to deal with the reflexion of the glass. Another thing is that making the screen matte might cause your screen to appear more blurry (depending on the implementation), something that not everyone might appreciate. A matte screen that isn't blurry, being matte at the pixel level, would still mean you get the reflections from the glass layers.
That's just how I figure it would be. Maybe someone can show me a matte screen implementation that does have a cover glass and touch screen.

I don't think matte would ruin the touch screen experience. It would feel different, but not necessarily worse. Blur is a problem when the apparent distance between the matte layer and the actual pixels is too large, but the ideal touch screen would incorporate a microlens array layer that makes it look like the light is emitted straight from the top glass surface.

The remaining problems with matte touch screens are that they are harder to clean and scratch easily. I don't know if etching the glass itself is an option.