Forgetting all the hype and theory (most of the complainers ignore the fact that there's more to the A7 than memory addressing), the proof is in the pudding.
Apple's A7 with two cores at 1.3 GHz (and the corresponding energy consumption) is roughly equivalent to a four core AMD chip from anyone else at 2.3 GHz. Clearly, Apple's chip is a very high performing chip and does so at low energy consumption. If you want to call that a gimmick, go ahead.
Nokia and BB disregard iphone 1 as a gimmick and ignore its true value. Do not let history repeat itself. Apple has not been known to put gimmicks into their devices. Seri appeared to be a gimmick at first but now after several updates it is working much better.
I'm pretty sure that there is a more important reason why they went with a 64 bit chip beyond marketing, Apple just haven't tipped their hat yet. Once again Apple's competition will be caught off guard and scramble to keep up.
Insignificant or "zero benefit" changes don't normally warrant a public statement from a VP. Nice try Qualcomm. You make a lot of really great stuff and you've delivered a lot of innovation in the wireless world, but don't try and downplay the significance of what Apple is doing. Its disrespectful, especially coming from a fellow innovator.
At the same time, though, Chandrasekher seemed to hint that Qualcomm ? which supplies the LTE chips used inside Apple's mobile devices ? would itself be rolling out a 64-bit mobile processor at some point in the future.
........
But obviously those will be used in server class smartphones only.
It would be and will be a gimmick on Android... because it can't figure out how to make use of the extra horsepower. But since this is Apple, and since they deeply integrated arm64 into Xcode and the Objective-C runtime, the gains are real. Ask any game developer who has taken advantage of that. Faster plus better battery life? Good luck Qualcomm.
He's just mad that his uber-clocked gazillion core Snapdragon 800 is no faster than Apple's highly efficient dual core processor.
And the Snspdragon 800 is barely 2 months old, so nobody can claim the usual "imagine that - a brand new processor is faster than a 6/9/12 month old processor" BS that the apologists throw around. For all intents and purposes the A7 and Snapdrsgon 800 were released at the same time and represent the pinnacle of SoC designs for their respective companies. And Apple has proven their superiority when it comes to processor design.
So, Apple puts in a 64 bit chip, building for the future, and it's panned as "gimmicky." Samsung cheats on benchmarking scores and it's a "feature."
Yeah, I think I understand.
You gotta understand Qualcomm's perspective. 5 years ago, Apple wasn't even in the chip business. However, this is pretty much ALL Qualcomm does.
The A4/A5 CPUs were a little behind the contemporary processors, but made up for it using the GPU.
A6 and variants almost caught up to the contemporary chips.
The A7 has taken a leap forward which demonstrates the unique advantages Apple's integration gives it. Something Qualcomm just cannot replicate. Like the guy points out, Qualcomm is gonna wait for Google to deliver a 64 bit capable OS before they release a 64 bit chip. OTOH, the 3rd party devs need to wait for Google to release the 64 bit OS, then Qualcomm to release the 64 bit chip, and only then can the 64 bitness be useful for other devs.
Apple has already provided all of that in the iPhone 5s. 64 bit chip, 64 bit OS backwards compatible with 32 bit chips, all 64 bit first party apps, and easy conversion methods for 3rd party apps.
It will take years for Android and partners to reach where Apple has reached today.
...said Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Qualcomm, in aninterview with Techworld. "I think they are doing a marketing gimmick. There's zero benefit a consumer gets from that."
Really?
"From an engineering efficiency standpoint it just makes sense to do that," Chandrasekher said. "Particularly the OS guys will want it at some point in time."
Translation- we're working on our own marketing gimmick
Dust off your resume boys- could be a Senior VP CMO job opening up at Qualcomm.
Apple doesn't do gimmicks. Besides it's really for the future. Devs can develop 64 bit apps now so when it does become more "useful" in the future, the Apps will be there ready to take advantage.
That's the difference between Apple and android: Apple plans ahead deliberately while Android just adds to feature lists with no planning (*cough* NFC *cough*).
He's lucky Steve isn't still around to hear him say that. With him, it'd be personal. Either he would lose his job or Apple would have a new supplier.
There is zero getting around Qualcomm in the mobile industry. They essentially own everything that is CDMA, and 21% of LTE, good luck. Almost no one else is making broadband modems like they are these days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
Forgetting all the hype and theory (most of the complainers ignore the fact that there's more to the A7 than memory addressing), the proof is in the pudding.
Apple's A7 with two cores at 1.3 GHz (and the corresponding energy consumption) is roughly equivalent to a four core AMD chip from anyone else at 2.3 GHz. Clearly, Apple's chip is a very high performing chip and does so at low energy consumption. If you want to call that a gimmick, go ahead.
This is a key point. the PPW is much higher for the A7 making it the superior option. The end experience, even from that chart yesterday don't show it crazy ahead in real world usage though. The whole 1GB RAM thing to me is more about forcing developers to have a cohesive experience across all devices they are targeting than anything else, for now.
Comments
Consumer performance, Chandrasekher noted, would be largely unaffected, as the use cases most in need of 64-bit are large, server-class applications.
iOS server?
It's nothing. You don't need it. We'll have it in six months.
BTW, this Saturday is the second anniversary of Steve's death. RIP.
Apple's A7 with two cores at 1.3 GHz (and the corresponding energy consumption) is roughly equivalent to a four core AMD chip from anyone else at 2.3 GHz. Clearly, Apple's chip is a very high performing chip and does so at low energy consumption. If you want to call that a gimmick, go ahead.
You're OK, it's not 'plastic' it's 'magic plastic'. "unlike any plastic phone you’ve ever held"
At the same time, though, Chandrasekher seemed to hint that Qualcomm ? which supplies the LTE chips used inside Apple's mobile devices ? would itself be rolling out a 64-bit mobile processor at some point in the future.
........
But obviously those will be used in server class smartphones only.
LOL.
It would be and will be a gimmick on Android... because it can't figure out how to make use of the extra horsepower. But since this is Apple, and since they deeply integrated arm64 into Xcode and the Objective-C runtime, the gains are real. Ask any game developer who has taken advantage of that. Faster plus better battery life? Good luck Qualcomm.
And the Snspdragon 800 is barely 2 months old, so nobody can claim the usual "imagine that - a brand new processor is faster than a 6/9/12 month old processor" BS that the apologists throw around. For all intents and purposes the A7 and Snapdrsgon 800 were released at the same time and represent the pinnacle of SoC designs for their respective companies. And Apple has proven their superiority when it comes to processor design.
Now wait until the A7X comes out.
Why his company wants to come with a 64-bit CPU then????????
What a retard!
p.s: forgot about memory on idevices. still 16gb on a 700€ phone? please.
€700? Really? What is Apple's portion of the price, versus all the taxes that your politicians have piled on to that price?
So, Apple puts in a 64 bit chip, building for the future, and it's panned as "gimmicky." Samsung cheats on benchmarking scores and it's a "feature."
Yeah, I think I understand.
You gotta understand Qualcomm's perspective. 5 years ago, Apple wasn't even in the chip business. However, this is pretty much ALL Qualcomm does.
The A4/A5 CPUs were a little behind the contemporary processors, but made up for it using the GPU.
A6 and variants almost caught up to the contemporary chips.
The A7 has taken a leap forward which demonstrates the unique advantages Apple's integration gives it. Something Qualcomm just cannot replicate. Like the guy points out, Qualcomm is gonna wait for Google to deliver a 64 bit capable OS before they release a 64 bit chip. OTOH, the 3rd party devs need to wait for Google to release the 64 bit OS, then Qualcomm to release the 64 bit chip, and only then can the 64 bitness be useful for other devs.
Apple has already provided all of that in the iPhone 5s. 64 bit chip, 64 bit OS backwards compatible with 32 bit chips, all 64 bit first party apps, and easy conversion methods for 3rd party apps.
It will take years for Android and partners to reach where Apple has reached today.
...said Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Qualcomm, in aninterview with Techworld. "I think they are doing a marketing gimmick. There's zero benefit a consumer gets from that."
Really?
"From an engineering efficiency standpoint it just makes sense to do that," Chandrasekher said. "Particularly the OS guys will want it at some point in time."
Translation- we're working on our own marketing gimmick
Dust off your resume boys- could be a Senior VP CMO job opening up at Qualcomm.
Apple is just setting the table for the future feast.
Zero benefits? This coming from a processor manufacturer? His statement is more gimmick than really informative.
He basically just said that his own companies major products provide "zero benefits" to customers.
That's the difference between Apple and android: Apple plans ahead deliberately while Android just adds to feature lists with no planning (*cough* NFC *cough*).
He's lucky Steve isn't still around to hear him say that. With him, it'd be personal. Either he would lose his job or Apple would have a new supplier.
There is zero getting around Qualcomm in the mobile industry. They essentially own everything that is CDMA, and 21% of LTE, good luck. Almost no one else is making broadband modems like they are these days.
Forgetting all the hype and theory (most of the complainers ignore the fact that there's more to the A7 than memory addressing), the proof is in the pudding.
Apple's A7 with two cores at 1.3 GHz (and the corresponding energy consumption) is roughly equivalent to a four core AMD chip from anyone else at 2.3 GHz. Clearly, Apple's chip is a very high performing chip and does so at low energy consumption. If you want to call that a gimmick, go ahead.
This is a key point. the PPW is much higher for the A7 making it the superior option. The end experience, even from that chart yesterday don't show it crazy ahead in real world usage though. The whole 1GB RAM thing to me is more about forcing developers to have a cohesive experience across all devices they are targeting than anything else, for now.