| Cult of Mac

Apple named in class-action lawsuit alongside AMD and Intel

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A10 processor
Apple's A-series chips are also susceptible to Meltdown and Spectre bugs.
Photo: Apple

Apple has been named in a class-action lawsuit alongside AMD and Intel. The case filed in Israel, one of many expected to hit major chip manufacturers, comes after the discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre bugs that leave billions of users at risk.

No, Apple is not slowing down your iPhone to force upgrades

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5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen
Is your iPhone slower with iOS 11? It's all in your head.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Every major iOS update slows down older devices to force users to upgrade. At least that’s what recent reports have suggested.

The truth is, Apple is doing no such thing. Benchmark data proves that iPhone performance drops over time are just a myth. The 4-year-old iPhone 5s is about as fast with iOS 11 today as it was with iOS 7 when it made its debut in 2013.

Apple developing custom Mac chip, but it won’t replace Intel

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2016 MacBook Pro
The new MacBook Pro already uses a secondary ARM chip.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is developing a custom ARM chip for future Macs, but it won’t replace the Intel processors that have been powering its computers since 2005, according to a new report.

Instead, the chip is expected to work alongside a machine’s primary CPU, handling “low-power mode functionality.”

iPhone 7 chipmaker enjoys record profits in 2016

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A10 Fusion
There's strong demand for the A10 Fusion chip inside iPhone 7.
Photo: Apple

Strong demand for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus helped chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company achieve record profits for 2016. Not only is TSMC outperforming its rivals, but it now accounts for 16 percent of Taiwan’s entire equity market value.

Apple may give Samsung the boot for iPhone 7 chip orders

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apple-vs-samsung
Samsung may be passed over for iPhone 7 chip orders.
Photo: Cult of Mac

After the “chipgate” event of the iPhone 6s — in which Samsung-manufactured A9 processors were rumored to perform worse than those built by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) — a new report suggests that Apple may give its South Korean frenemy the boot, and award 100 percent of its iPhone 7 A10 chip orders to TSMC.

Google to follow Apple into building its own mobile chips

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Androids tend to me more affordable, but that doesn't mean they're cheap.
Androids tend to me more affordable, but that doesn't mean they're cheap.
Photo: Google
Will we see a Google chip inside one of these one day? Photo: Google
Will we see a Google chip inside one of these one day? Photo: Google

Google is in talks with chipset manufacturers with a view to designing its own processors and other components for future Android devices, according to a new report.

The company is said to be interested in following Apple’s footsteps in an effort to make Android “more competitive” at the high end of the market, and to “solve other major problems.”

Intel: 64-Bit Android Tablets Will Be Available In 2014

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The 64-bit iPad Air will have competition from Android-powered rivals next year.

While Android hardware manufacturers were busy trying to pack as many cores as they could into their smartphone and tablet processors, Apple took a different route and decided to go 64-bit instead. It’s a move that makes the iPhone 5s and the latest iPads some of the fastest mobile devices on the market, and so it’s no surprise that its rivals are getting ready to follow suit.

Intel has promised that you’ll be able to buy Android-powered tablets with 64-bit “Bay Trail” processors next year.

Samsung To Adopt 64-Bit Chips & 16MP Cameras For Next Year’s Flagships [Rumor]

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post-253549-image-41730cf88ba3527a86737685bf119ff1-jpg

Apple’s iPhone 5s became the world’s first smartphone with a 64-bit processor when it launched this September, but as you might expect, it’ll have plenty of competitors next year. Unsurprisingly, some of those will come from Samsung, which is already planning 64-bit chips and 16-megapixel cameras for its 2014 flagships, according to industry sources.