New iPad looks show iPhone 4's camera, huge graphics core
updated 06:40 pm EDT, Fri March 16, 2012
Chipworks shows familiar parts in new iPad
The new iPad is borrowing familiar parts and suppliers to reach its goals, Chipworks and UBM TechInsights found separately in new examinations on Friday. Apple's back camera is using the OmniVision OV5650, the same five-megapixel CMOS sensor used in the iPhone 4. Any improvements in image quality come mostly from the lens elements, which come from the more recent iPhone 4S.
The front sensor is OmniVision's OV297AA, a VGA (0.3-megapixel or 640x480) camera senso brought over from the iPad 2.
A look at the A5X processor has provided more detail than what Apple has given. The quad-core graphics, believed to be a PowerVR SGX543MP4, are large enough to occupy the majority of the chip die. Combined, they're enough to grow the size of the chip by a third, from 120mm squared to 163mm on the A5X.
The A5X' chip ID of APL5498 gives a clue that the processor was assembled by Samsung, at least initially ruling out a TSMC deals. The part is still a 45-nanometer chip and shows that Apple didn't need to shrink the processor to get its improved speed.
Most likely, the A5X is being made at Samsung's Austin plant, which was already manufacturing the original A5.
