macrumors.com — ZDNet reports that the iPhone 3.0 firmware will support quad-core processors in an upcoming iPhone hardware revision. While Apple has not yet detailed iPhone 3.0 firmware, MacRumors has independently heard from a reliable source of this same multi-core support in the 3.0 firmware which should accompany the next iPhone.
Jan 8, 2009 View in Crawl 4
blogxillaJan 8, 2009
Thanks for the shout
drlhaJan 10, 2009
TVarmy: anyone who has jailbroken and sshed into an iPhone will tell you that its running a scaled down version of OSX, that's not up for debate.
Closed AccountJan 10, 2009
iPod Touch
fadingsignalJan 10, 2009
Amen.
steviesteveoJan 10, 2009
No, multiprocessor and multicore processor are naturally different things - multiprocessor systems have more than one socket (or slot, if you're old) built into the motherboard where a processor is plugged in. A multicore processor has more than one processing core built into it and plugs into the single socket.A Mac Pro, for example, is a multi processor (2 sockets) multicore (quad core Xeon) computer. That, effectively to the OS shows up as having 8 cores.Pipelining is a way of speeding up the processing of instructions in a particular core by using idle parts of the unit to carry out the next part of the program while it's still working on the previous instruction, for example:A processor has to do these steps (it's taught as the Fetch-Execute cycle): 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memory -> 3. Execute the instruction -> 4. Store resultsSince each of these steps uses different parts of the processor it leaves parts idle while the rest of the cycle progresses, so you can restart it with the expected next command.Pipe 1: 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memory -> 3. Execute the instruction -> 4. Store results -> 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memoryPipe 2: Wait -> 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memory -> 3. Execute the instruction -> 4. Store results -> 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instructionPipe 3: Wait -> Wait -> 1. Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memory -> 3. Execute the instruction -> 4. Store results -> 1. Fetch the instruction from main memoryPipe 4: 1. Wait -> Wait -> Wait -> Fetch the instruction from main memory -> Decode the instruction -> 2. Fetch data from main memory -> 3. Execute the instruction -> 4. Store resultsIn a multicore system there's no waiting between cores because there's entirely separate processing units and there's no need to share them. The individuals might still use pipelining though.A gpu uses separate processors to produce extremely parallel systems which can do a lot of the calculations at the same time - for the intents of this article that's very multicore in a slightly cheaper way to implement. The new stream processor architecture certainly is multicore.
xspittyxJan 12, 2009
Does nobody know what sarcasm is? The first sentence just said that the iPhone has bad battery life and the second was filled to the brim with sarcasm. I know the PSP gets WAY more battery life and I also know that multiple cores would mean more energy consumption.
redledMay 8, 2009
I got a head unit (Pioneer DEH7000BT) with usb ipod input and bluetooth. When plugged in, all controls (except volume) are handled by the iphone. When I receive a phone call, it is answered on the iphone screen and I can choose to send it to the iphone or to the head units speakerphone. Music is paused and resumes when the call is ended. Other applications (like maps) are accessible as normal. Now, with bluetooth audio in firmware 3.0, everything works the same but I get to ditch the usb cable.You can use the head unit interface for calls and music controls but the interface is horrible (like most head units). The menus aren't even consistent and it's hard to remember how to change settings (some are wheel select, some are up/down/left/right, etc).I like the idea of the iphone-based head unit, but why would a company make one? It might sound simpler than a normal unit but it would require more than the slight feature changes they usually do to make a new product. It would be dependent on the iphone, including its size, shape and presumably an installed app. I would not want to buy a new head unit next year when I get a new iphone.There are solutions that work great already, and are likely to work with your next iphone.
Closed AccountMay 29, 2009
I'm running the 3.0 beta 5 firmware. It's no secret it has copy and paste, and it works well.