Alleged photos of next-gen iPhone logic board reveal internal chip layout

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Images claim to show a purported next-generation iPhone logic board with EMI shielding removed, giving a closer look at the internal layout of the rumored handset's chipsets.

The somewhat blurry photos from Chinese site Sina.com (via Macrumors) depict what looks to be a logic board similar in shape to another reportedly leaked part which surfaced a little over one week ago.

Unlike the first "leak," however, Wednesday's photos show a logic board without the protective EMI shielding found in most portable electronic devices, allowing a slightly better view at what circuitry Apple intends to use in the upcoming device. While the general layout can be distinguished, no component manufacturing marks or labels can be made out due to the blurriness of the image. It is also possible that markings have been removed or are not present if this particular part is a prototype.

Logic Board Front
Source: Sina.com


The component appears to be incomplete as it lacks a processor, RAM and communication chips, among others, possibly hinting that the part came from an upstream supplier. The source of the photo claims Apple will be employing the same A5X chip seen in the third-generation iPad, though no mention was made as to the specific tweaks the company would employ to the system-on-chip silicon given the reduced performance requirements.

Logic Board Reverse
Source: Sina.com


The new images come just hours after photos of a the handset's alleged USB cable with smaller dock connector hit the web. That part is consistent with a number of previously reported "leaks" concerning Apple's move to a more compact 9-pin connector.

Apple is widely expected to launch the next-generation iPhone at an as-yet-unannounced Sept. 12 special event, with pre-orders starting the same day for delivery on Sept. 21.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    "Reveal", huh? There's not a whole lot of revealing going on. I see black rectangles. See, look:


     


     



     


     


    Even after sharpening there's nothing to be read anywhere. The images are just too small to do anything about.

  • Reply 2 of 27
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member


    How is it possible in this day and age to take a blurry picture? Especially if one works with iPhones...!

  • Reply 3 of 27
    It's a picture of a picture...and it's on a crummy 7 inch tablet to add to the insult.
  • Reply 4 of 27
    bullheadbullhead Posts: 493member


    hey it is a picture of a system board. oh wow.  who f'ing cares?

  • Reply 5 of 27
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member


    I don't think there is anything printed on those chips. Perhaps a prototype and the markings were intentionally removed for just this reason. Leaked photos. I can think of a few cases where they might want a specialist to be able to contribute to the project without jeopardizing the secret info. For example MyDrivers.com which is printed in the lower right corner the photo may have been involved with writing some drivers and needed the board to test their code. So Apple gave them a board with no writing on it.

  • Reply 6 of 27
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bullhead View Post


    hey it is a picture of a system board. oh wow.  who f'ing cares?



     


    Better get ahold of Tim Cook. He's going to want to know their most valuable secrets have been leaked.

  • Reply 7 of 27
    bullhead wrote: »
    hey it is a picture of a system board. oh wow.  who f'ing cares?
    Oh man, almost lost my Mountain Dew with that one…. LOL

    I agree, it is a picture of black boxes. I can do that too. Does that mean I have leaked photos of the soon to be released iPhone 8 Gargantuan with 18" screen that might fit in a backpack? ;)
  • Reply 8 of 27
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

    Better get ahold of Tim Cook. He's going to want to know their most valuable secrets have been leaked.


     


    See, when he said "doubling down" on security, he meant "We'll be giving our entire team all the KFC Double Downs they can eat. That way when products leak, their greasy fingerprints will reveal who leaked them!"


     


     



     


    "Also, if any of our team dies of a heart attack, when their will stipulates their families get prototypes, we'll know who the leakers were."

  • Reply 9 of 27
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member


    Well, it looks long so the new size it pretty concrete at this point.

  • Reply 10 of 27


    I've heard of fuzzy logic. but fuzzy logic boards?!

  • Reply 11 of 27
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    See, when he said "doubling down" on security, he meant "We'll be giving our entire team all the KFC Double Downs they can eat. That way when products leak, their greasy fingerprints will reveal who leaked them!"


    LL

    "Also, if any of our team dies of a heart attack, when their will stipulates their families get prototypes, we'll know who the leakers were."

    Heh heh!
  • Reply 12 of 27

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I don't think there is anything printed on those chips. Perhaps a prototype and the markings were intentionally removed for just this reason. Leaked photos. I can think of a few cases where they might want a specialist to be able to contribute to the project without jeopardizing the secret info. For example MyDrivers.com which is printed in the lower right corner the photo may have been involved with writing some drivers and needed the board to test their code. So Apple gave them a board with no writing on it.



    Why the **** would an external, non accessory maker need to write drivers for it? Aside from possibly baseband firmware, which the baseband maker creates?

  • Reply 13 of 27
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,142member


    Most important detail not shown...A5X, or something new? 

  • Reply 14 of 27
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by marcusj0015 View Post


    Why the **** would an external, non accessory maker need to write drivers for it? Aside from possibly baseband firmware, which the baseband maker creates?



    Clearly you are the expert on building smartphones. Silly me, I thought every function on the phone required a driver. That is the way it used to be back in the old days of 2011. The camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, audio amplifier, touch screen, LCD display, and everything other piece of hardware all needed drivers. Who would have guessed that has all been deprecated except for the baseband component.

  • Reply 15 of 27


    I'm pretty sure that Apple makes those drivers, their hardware and OS...


    I mean, Apple makes even Graphic drivers in Regular ol' OS X, hell they even made Java for like a decade or more...

  • Reply 16 of 27
    845032845032 Posts: 76member


    What ?


    black rectangles ?


    Apple will sue

  • Reply 17 of 27
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    A5X will upset many but it is what I'm expecting. Well at least in the sense that it will be a chip in the same class. Most likely the unit will be process shrunk, and tuned for the platform.

    Until there is a split in processor development I expect new tech to debut on iPad from now on out. IPad is where they need the performance the most. IPhone will simply get the shrunk and lower clocked hardware to meld with battery capacity.
  • Reply 18 of 27


    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post

    A5X will upset many…

    Until there is a split in processor development I expect new tech to debut on iPad from now on out. IPad is where they need the performance the most. IPhone will simply get the shrunk and lower clocked hardware to meld with battery capacity.


     


    And you know, I'll never understand why. What you've said after that is exactly what they've done since the start of making their own chips, so thinking anything else would happen without cause is pretty silly.

  • Reply 19 of 27
    strat09strat09 Posts: 158member
    I don't think there will be an event this September for a launch.. Seeing how the companies suppliers and driver makers are leaking everything they make... Tim Cook should establish more plants in the US and stop outsourcing the products over seas... This is the most leaked product in history of leaks. And their iOS 6 can be installed by nondevelopers on their iDevices if they press the update button after doing a restore and holding shift to select a downloaded .ispw beta off the internet.. What is important though is that it's all Apple, and no other company can produce an Apple Replica and put iOS on it so Apple doesn't loose anything with these leaks. In fact it shows their progress and gets us closer to buying their new product! :)
  • Reply 20 of 27
    strat09strat09 Posts: 158member
    Product launch will probably be around November.
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