Teardown of Apple's new iPad finds Samsung-built Retina display, A5X CPU

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014


A complete disassembly of the new iPad has offered a glimpse inside the hardware, including a Samsung-built Retina display and A5X processor.



The repair wizards at iFixit wasted no time on Thursday getting their hands on the new iPad by traveling to Australia where it is officially on sale. Their disassembly offers a look at the 4G LTE wireless model.



The front panel of the new iPad was removed by using heat, guitar picks an opening tool, and heavy-duty suction cups. The disassembly also confirmed that pre-release components showing a new LCD connector cable were legitimate.



In removing the LCD panel, the solutions provider got a look at the back of the new Retina display. There, they found a model number naming scheme that suggests the panel for that particular model was built by Samsung.



Samsung was outed this week as the primary supplier of Retina displays for the new iPad, even though the company is one of Apple's primary competitors. It is also believed that LG Display Co. is building iPad Retina displays.











On the logic board is the new custom A5X processor, which features the same clock speed as the A5 CPU found in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, but adds a new quad-core graphics processor and a gigabyte of RAM. The CPU was also built by Samsung, and markings on it indicate it was manufactured in the first week of 2012.











The new 4G LTE iPad, identified by the model number A1389, also sports a larger 11560mAh battery. Interest in the live teardown updates was so great on Thursday that the company's website struggled to handle the traffic spike.

Other chips discovered on the new iPad logic board are:



Texas Instruments CD3240 driver device



Broadcom BCM4330 802.11a/b/g/n MAC/Baseband/Radio with Integrated Bluetooth 4.0+HS and FM Transceiver










Epcos B4064 SAW filters



Fairchild FDMC 6683



Toshiba ZX0730 1123KLD



Qualcomm RTR8600 (under the thermal pad)



Broadcom BCM5973 I/O controller








For more details and pictures, check out the full teardown of Apple's third-generation iPad at iFixit.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 107
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Nice 'gadget pron'!



    - 1gb RAM (finally) = Check

    - New GPU/same CPU = Check

    - Very capable battery/same-ish size = Check

    - New-ish camera module = Check

    - New Display panel = Check



    ... and that's about it, as well as just enough to keep most users satisfied until about a year from now.
  • Reply 2 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    Nice 'gadget pron'!



    - 1gb RAM (finally) = Check

    - New GPU/same CPU = Check

    - Very capable battery/same-ish size = Check

    - New-ish camera module = Check

    - New Display panel = Check



    ... and that's about it, as well as just enough to keep most users satisfied until about a year from now.



    Lets be fair, the CPU wasn't going to be the limiting factor, so they just cranked up the GPU to accomodate all those extra pixels, which was definetly needed. The 1GB was also needed with the larger app sizes that we will be seeing with the new screen and is a very welcome upgrade. And really, the camera is something I just don't care about on a tablet. The screen is the selling point on this thing and rest of the upgrades seemed to focus on enhancing the experience of using that screen. I can't wait to get my hands on one, it might make me upgrade for my OG first gen ipad.



    Edit: Also, there was no mention of the LTE. I have tethering on my 4G phone, so not really a draw for me, but early reports are that the verizon LTE ipad is crushing cable modem speeds.
  • Reply 3 of 107
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    Limited Legacy Phone Sized Storage: Check.

    Google and Samsung will be out with android pad and Retina (a larger one is rumoured too) in a couple of months or so:Check.

    Can't wait to use the 3rd Gen Ipad with the Retina Display: Check.

  • Reply 4 of 107
    Quote:

    Qualcomm RTR8600



    So definitely not the new 28nm LTE radios.
  • Reply 5 of 107
    s4mb4s4mb4 Posts: 267member
    I can't believe Apple won the lawsuit in Germany preventing the sale of the Galaxy Tab and Samsung still sells them parts for the iPad.

    really makes me wonder what the point of all the lawsuits are....... odd.
  • Reply 6 of 107
    kpomkpom Posts: 660member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    So definitely not the new 28nm LTE radios.



    Yes, that radio is a year old. No wonder they didn't use it in the iPhone 4S.
  • Reply 7 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Baka-Dubbs View Post


    Lets be fair, the CPU wasn't going to be the limiting factor, so they just cranked up the GPU to accomodate all those extra pixels, which was definetly needed. The 1GB was also needed with the larger app sizes that we will be seeing with the new screen and is a very welcome upgrade. And really, the camera is something I just don't care about on a tablet. The screen is the selling point on this thing and rest of the upgrades seemed to focus on enhancing the experience of using that screen. I can't wait to get my hands on one, it might make me upgrade for my OG first gen ipad.



    Edit: Also, there was no mention of the LTE. I have tethering on my 4G phone, so not really a draw for me, but early reports are that the verizon LTE ipad is crushing cable modem speeds.



    LTE is wonderful except for 2 things: power draw is immense and beware your data limits! that wonderful speed gets you hooked and you forget about the data usage...
  • Reply 8 of 107
    These iFixit guys are lovably insane. They fly halfway around the world, buy one of the first commercially available iPad 3's on the planet, then instead of even turning it ON and looking at that purportedly GORGEOUS screen, they take a hairdryer to it.



    I mean, how great is it watching folks who know what their mission in life really is?
  • Reply 9 of 107
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    - 1gb RAM (finally) = Check

    - New GPU/same CPU = Check

    - Very capable battery/same-ish size = Check

    - New-ish camera module = Check

    - New Display panel = Check



    - Bluetooth 4.0 (first tablet to have bluetooth 4.0) = Check



    The new iPad boasts obvious improvements such as a sharp Retina display, faster graphics, and 4G LTE but it breaks Bluetooth ground, too, which is just as significant.



    http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-573...ould-you-care/
  • Reply 10 of 107
    umrk_labumrk_lab Posts: 550member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    - Bluetooth 4.0 (first tablet to have bluetooth 4.0) = Check



    The new iPad boasts obvious improvements such as a sharp Retina display, faster graphics, and 4G LTE but it breaks Bluetooth ground, too, which is just as significant.



    http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-573...ould-you-care/



    personally, I missed in the new iPad presentation the checking form (with ticked boxes) that Steve used to present (including environmental concerns, yes ...)
  • Reply 11 of 107
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KPOM View Post


    Yes, that radio is a year old. No wonder they didn't use it in the iPhone 4S.





    Wondering if they have an easy way to toggle LTE on and off. Perhaps they went with that radio due to the fact that most people on the planet don't have access to LTE and won't even use it. Those who do should only turn it on as needed to avoid excess data usage and battery drain.
  • Reply 12 of 107
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member
    I am just wondering what chip is Apple using that would prevent them from being able to use the other bandwidths for LTE that is to be used in europe? What would Apple have to do differently? Do they have to have different software loaded? Another chip to be used if they signed up carriers in Europe to handle these other bands? No one has really gone into depth on this issue.
  • Reply 13 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    - Bluetooth 4.0 (first tablet to have bluetooth 4.0) = Check



    The new iPad boasts obvious improvements such as a sharp Retina display, faster graphics, and 4G LTE but it breaks Bluetooth ground, too, which is just as significant.



    http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-573...ould-you-care/



    Only if it makes you feel better really. Apple still cripples basic bluetooth profiles and the vast majority of peripherals are still on 2.1 and not to mention 3 yet. Always hear about this great potential for Bluetooth for years, and it's never really taken off.
  • Reply 14 of 107
    galbigalbi Posts: 968member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s4mb4 View Post


    I can't believe Apple won the lawsuit in Germany preventing the sale of the Galaxy Tab and Samsung still sells them parts for the iPad.

    really makes me wonder what the point of all the lawsuits are....... odd.



    It draws attention to both companies which in itself could be regarded as a marketing strategy.



    Bad publicity is better than no publicity.
  • Reply 15 of 107
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    Only if it makes you feel better really. Apple still cripples basic bluetooth profiles and the vast majority of peripherals are still on 2.1 and not to mention 3 yet. Always hear about this great potential for Bluetooth for years, and it's never really taken off.



    Maybe the iPad is just the device which makes it take off, since they're going to sell many tens of millions of them. The iPhone 4S also has it, so that's hundreds of millions of people.



    There are some health devices which already use bluetooth 4.0.



    Nike Fuel band is bluetooth 4.0. I think that we're going to see a lot of 4.0 accessories this year.
  • Reply 16 of 107
    rd68krd68k Posts: 16member
    It seems A5X contains only processor SoC packaged in conventional IC package with thermal heat sink.



    1 GB DRAM is packaged in separate ICs and is not part of of A5X processor module as in A4 and A5 before.



    That is the biggest surprise today!
  • Reply 17 of 107
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by s4mb4 View Post


    I can't believe Apple won the lawsuit in Germany preventing the sale of the Galaxy Tab and Samsung still sells them parts for the iPad.

    really makes me wonder what the point of all the lawsuits are....... odd.



    So you want Samsung to cut off it's nose to spite it's face? Okay if that works for you
  • Reply 18 of 107
    postulantpostulant Posts: 1,272member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Maybe the iPad is just the device which makes it take off, since they're going to sell many tens of millions of them. The iPhone 4S also has it, so that's hundreds of millions of people.



    There are some health devices which already use bluetooth 4.0.



    Nike Fuel band is bluetooth 4.0. I think that we're going to see a lot of 4.0 accessories this year.



    I think I'm going with Sony's Bluetooth earbuds... I'm tired of cables.



    Will be awesome with my iPad and 4S.
  • Reply 19 of 107
    simtubsimtub Posts: 277member
    I wonder how many hours you would get of usage if you retrofitted the ipad3 batteries to the ipad2.
  • Reply 20 of 107
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    - Bluetooth 4.0 (first tablet to have bluetooth 4.0) = Check



    Hardware-wise, the Playbook is the first tablet to have a bluetooth 4.0 chipset --- but like the rest of the Playbook, the software (the bluetooth driver) is not ready.
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