Qualcomm believes Apple’s new A7 chip is a merely a “marketing gimmick” that offers little true value for the average consumer.
One of the main innovations of the iPhone 5S, Qualcomm has dismissed the new 64-bit A7 processor inside the iPhone 5S as nothing more than a marketing scam.
“I think they are doing a marketing gimmick. There’s zero benefit a consumer gets from that,” said Anand Chandrasekher, Qualcomm’s Senior Vice President and CMO. “You don’t really need [a 64-bit chip] for performance, and the application that 64-bit gets used in mostly are large, server-class applications.”
A 64-bit processor is used to unlock the use of more RAM, usually beyond 4GB. This isn’t applicable for the iPhone 5S as it only has 1GB of RAM.
However, despite Chandrasekher’s beliefs, Qualcomm will still be making its own 64-bit processor at an unspecified point in the future.
“From an engineering efficiency point it just makes sense to go do that. Particularly the OS guys will want it at some point in time,” he added.
Apple introduced several new features with the iPhone 5S, including the M7 “coprocessor” for measuring motion data from the compass, gyroscope and accelerometer. The M7 takes on some of the processing grunt to save battery power.
The iSight camera has also been updated in the iPhone 5S, offering users a larger sensor, larger aperture, True Tone flash, continuous burst mode, auto image stabilisation and other new features.
Running iOS 7, the iPhone 5S also packs a new Touch ID fingerprint scanner to make unlocking the smartphone a breeze and making it easier to spend money in iTunes.
The iPhone 5S is available now from £549 SIM-free in silver, space grey or gold.
Next, read: What is 64-bit? iPhone 5S A7 chip explained
Via: PocketNow
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
