Apple’s next-gen iPhone may be powered by a quad-core ARM chip built around Samsung’s Exynos 4 architecture.
The above-mentioned report originates from the sometimes-reliable DigiTimes, which declined to offer additional specs about the rumored processor, such as clock speed and graphics (GPU) capabilities.
As AppleInsider’s Slash Lane notes, the current iPhone 4S features a custom A5 dual-core processor clocking in at 800 megahertz.
As you may recall, the A5 was first introduced by Cupertino in the iPad 2, where it was clocked slightly faster at a cool 1 gigahertz.
The third-gen iPad launched by Apple earlier this year is powered by the A5X, which isn’t considered a true next-gen chip.
To be sure, the processor is based on Samsung’s trusty 45-nanometer low-power architecture – which is also found in the A5 CPU in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2.
Although the A5X doesn’t feature a radical redesign in terms of architecture, the chip boasts an updated quad-core integrated graphics processor fully capable of rendering the impressive 3.1 million pixels on the iPad 3’s high-res Retina display.
If Apple ends up designing a quad-core ARM CPU for the next iPhone, the chip would likely be revamped enough to be classified as the long-awaited “A6.”
Apple’s quad-core iPhone would then compete with a slew of Android phones equipped with quad-core chips manufactured by mobile industry heavyweights like Nvidia, Qualcomm and TI.
