The Apple Watch has gone through a number of teardowns since its release on April 24. The newest release from Chipworks has revealed the wearable to feature 512MB of RAM, a Broadcom Wi-Fi chip, an accelerometer/gyrometer from STMicroelectronics, 30 individual components inside the 26mm x 28mm S1 package, a feat Chipworks calls “quite an accomplishment.”
Among the more interesting discoveries Chipworks has made is the manufacturing process for the APL0778 application processor (CPU/GPU). It was made with Samsung’s 28 nanometer LP process, which is no longer cutting edge technology. A 28-nanometer processor was also used in the iPhone 5s, while the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus used 20-nanometer A8 processors.
The 28-nanometer size suggests that Apple could scale the processor size down even smaller for future generations of the Apple Watch, allowing for both an increase in performance as well as room for additional components. Samsung’s chip technology has progressed to a 14-nanometer process, which we may see in the next-generation iPhone, among other products.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and Ars Technica