We’ve been pretty confident since Apple announced the iPad 2 that the next-generation iPhone would feature the company’s dual-core A5 processor, but in case you needed photographic evidence, here’s what is claimed to be an iPhone 5 logic board with that A5 processor built-in… But we’re not sure it’s really an iPhone 5.
The image was posted to the Chinese networking site Weibo, and appears to show the new iPhone’s A5 processor for the first time. We’ve already seen the new device’s logic board, but this is the first time Apple’s latest processor has been present.
The logic board is different to both of those featured in the current iPhone 4 and the iPad 2, and a different battery is also present in the shot — labelled 1,430mAh as opposed to 1,420mAh like that in the iPhone 4.
However, there are two things that make me question the validity of this photograph: Firstly, the display attached to the logic board is that of an iPhone 4. And if you look closely, the cover for the proximity sensor is the old mesh-style cover seen on the white device before its release. When the white iPhone 4 finally hit the market, Apple had altered the front cover to change that proximity sensor’s design.
Secondly, it’s unlike Apple to state a battery’s milliamp-hours. The Cupertino company has previously labelled them with just the voltage and watt-hours instead.
Of course, it’s possible this is a prototype device and that some of the components are purely for testing purposes, and won’t actually be present on the final device. It’s also possible that this is an iPhone 4S prototype, as opposed to the iPhone 5.
Either way, we’re still highly confident the iPhone 5 will pack the A5 processor, which will make it faster than the Samsung Galaxy S II. Recent GLBenchmark 2.1 tests on the iPad 2 show that its A5 processor is roughly twice as fast as the 1.2GHz Exynos 4210 — Mali-400 processor in Samsung device, according to AnandTech. While Apple has been known to throttle its processors slightly for better performance, the PowerVR SGX 543MP2 is still faster than that in the Galaxy S II.
[via Electronista]
