Apple Using "Recycled" Parts in the New iPad

Silicon expert Chipworks has released a teardown analysts of the new Apple iPad concluding (among other things) that the Cupertino giant is “recycling” parts to keep the tablet’s bill of materials at a minimum.

Chipworks and iFixit worked in tandem to determine the source and complete functionality of each individual part in the new Apple iPad - particularly the chips.

They found, for instance, that the A5X SoC (system on a chip) is dual core, just like its predecessor, and that it boasts 1 GB of random access memory (RAM), which is double the amount of the previous A5 chip. They also confirmed it has four GPU cores, just like Apple said.

Others conducted benchmarks and found that Apple’s performance claims also held water. Several tests have revealed that the A5X trounces Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor, which boasts four processing cores and a whopping 12-graphic cores.

But ChipWorks was also interested in the 5 megapixel CMOS image sensor Apple used in the 3rd gen iPad. Everybody knows this piece of hardware is new to the iPad, but is it new to the Apple product line as a whole? Chipworks isn’t convinced.

In fact, they say “It is very likely that Apple has recycled the 5 Mp back illuminated CMOS image sensor from the iPhone 4,” adding that  the unit “was the Omnivision OV5650.”

Chipworks continued their analysis, saying: “The OV5650 is the second generation back illumination (BSI) technology from OmniVision. This 5 Mp camera features 1.75 µm pixels, and is designed to deliver DSC quality in a mobile phone application. The sensor supports HD (1080p) video at 60 fps. Apple specifications for the new iPad also tout the same specification.”

“So the analysis we have just completed . . . drum roll please . . . says that the 5 Mp back illuminated CMOS image sensor in the new iPad is the same, it is the Omnivision OV5650 (die markings OV290BF),” says Chipworks.

“Yet again, Apple is recycling as many devices as they can to produce this new iPad,” the hardware experts emphasize.

Editor's note

To be noted that the parts themselves are not reused from another device. Chipworks is simply using the term "recycled" to emphasize that Apple hasn't sourced any new-generation hardware for the camera sensor. The parts themselves should be brand new, albeit their design may be old.

The chip-tearing company admits that Apple is smart in doing this as it “keeps their costs and technological risks low.”

They theorize that “Apple would have placed large orders for this camera to build the iPhone 4 and now again for the new iPad, so hopefully they are leveraging these volumes to get a low unit price per camera.”

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