O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Infineon

  • ChargerLAB performs full teardown of Apple 35W dual USB-C charger, posts findings

    ChargerLAB performs full teardown of Apple 35W dual USB-C charger, posts findings

    Last week, Apple began selling its new 35W dual USB-C charger in two versions, offering both a regular and a compact model. While they perform the same functions at the same capacities, there’s a small design tweak on the exterior of the product.

    The cool cats at the ChargerLAB YouTube channel posted a full teardown vide, and cited the following list of components:

    Input Fuse: SCHURTER

    Bridge Rectifier: LITE-ON MRS30M (3A 1000V)

    Electrolytic Capacitor: AiSHi, CapXon

    Master Control Chip: PI ZN1431C

    Transformer: Salcomp

    Synchronous Rectifier: AOS AONS62920

    Solid Capacitor: CapXon

    MOSFET: ON Semiconductor NTTFS4C05N

    Protocol Chip: Infineon CYPD4236-LQXQT

    Interestingly, Apple promises 35W of power when charging a single device and 17.5W of power when charging two devices at once.

    What’s interesting to see in the video is how symmetrical it is the internal components of the charger. For this product, Apple promises up to 35W when charging one device and 17.5W of power when charging two devices at once.

    The folks at 9to5Mac also noted the following thanks to tests performed over the weekend:

    • If you connect a Mac notebook and an iPhone or iPad, each device receives up to 17.5W;
    • If you connect an iPhone and an iPad, each device receives up to 17.5W;
    • If you connect a Mac notebook or iPhone and an Apple Watch or AirPods, the Mac notebook or iPhone receives up to 27.5W and the Apple Watch or AirPods receive up to 7.5W.

  • Rumor: Apple reportedly looking to acquire key component of Intel’s modem business

    Apple is rumored to be in talks to buy a key section of Intel’s modem business, a division that was effectively shut down after Apple and Qualcomm settled their worldwide legal dispute in April.

    Per sources close to the story, it’s been said that Apple is looking to procure Intel’s German operation, which serves as the heart of its modem business. 

    The German wing is comprised of engineers from Infineon’s wireless technology branch, which Intel purchased for $1.4 billion in 2011. This group is said to have provided baseband chips for iPhone from 2007 to 2010.

    Negotiations are said to have been ongoing since 2018 and, while tenuous, could allow Apple to acquire hundreds of veteran modem engineers. This, in turn, would allow Apple to work on its 5G modem.

    Intel has offered the following comments:

    “We have hired outside advisers to help us assess strategic options for our wireless 5G phone business,” an Intel spokesman said. “We have created value both in our portfolio of wireless modem products and in our intellectual property. We have received significant interest in the business but have nothing more to say at this time.”

    The deal, if successful, would also include patents and products, according to the sources.

    Intel exited the smartphone modem industry in April, saying the way forward in that segment was no longer tenable after Apple and Qualcomm settled a legal battle involving patent royalties and licensing. As part of the arrangement, Apple agreed to a one-time payment worth between $4.5 and $4.6 billion in exchange for multiyear chip supply and six-year licensing agreements. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and The Information

  • Rumor: Next-gen iPhone to use specialized laser with rear-facing camera

    It’s a rumor, so part of it must be true…

    Apple is said to be working on implementing a specialized rear-facing laser system in its upcoming “iPhone 8” that will facilitate augmented reality applications, like those produced with ARKit, as well as faster and more accurate autofocus capabilities.

    Per a source close to the story, Apple will apply VSCEL technology to the rear-facing camera. This system, in turn, calculates distance to a target using light pulses and time of flight (TOF) measurements, would allow for extremely accurate depth mapping, a plus for AR applications.

    (more…)

  • iFixit performs full iPad 2 3G teardown, finds antennas similar to iPhone 4 units

    I think we all have a certain fondness in our hearts for iFixit, as they follow the habit we all had when we were six and took everything apart to see how things worked, even if it meant that our parents invariably wound up screaming at us for the destruction involved.

    On the plus side, iFixit is staffed by adults and releases some interesting finds.

    And they’re nice enough to clean up the things that they destroy.

    The latest iFixit teardown of the iPad 2 3G the differences between Apple’s different versions of the iPad 2, comparing the components of the Wi-Fi-only, GSM and CDMA models and discovering similarities with the iPhone 4.

    The comparison shows design decisions similar to the differences between the GSM and CDMA iPhone 4 models. For example, the CDMA version of the iPad 2 has one more antenna than the GSM model, just like the Verizon iPhone 4.

    Also like the Verizon iPhone 4, the CDMA iPad 2 features an integrated GPS receiver. On the GSM model, GPS is a separate chip from Broadcom, like with the GSM iPhone 4.

    The other major difference between the GSM and CDMA iPad 2 models is the inclusion of a Micro-SIM card slot on the GSM model. Located in the upper left corner of the device, the slot’s inclusion gives that model a unique design.

    The Micro-SIM tray is integrated into the headphone jack assembly for the GSM iPad 2. Since the CDMA iPad 2 does not have a space for a SIM card, it uses the exact same headphone jack assembly as the Wi-Fi-only model.

    Chips providing 3G connectivity for the CDMA iPad 2 include a Qualcomm MDM6600 Baseband/RF Transceiver, Qualcomm PM8028 Power Management IC, Toshiba Y890A111222KA, Skyworks 77710 Power Amplifier Module, and Skyworks 77711 Power Amplifier Module. All of these are also found in the Verizon iPhone 4.

    The GSM iPad 2’s 3G radio has an Intel 36My1EF with 128MB of Numonyx NOR flash and Elpida Mobile DDR SDRAM, Infineon 337Se833 Baseband Processor, Skyworks & TriQuint Transmit Modules, and Infineon 338S0626 GSM/W-CDMA Transceiver. It also includes a Broadcom BCM4751 Integrated Monolithic GPS Receiver, which is an update from the BCM4750 found in the GSM iPhone 4.

  • Fifth-gen iPhone may swap Infineon baseband chip for Qualcomm model

    The fifth-generation iPhone may forgo an Infineon baseband chip in favor of one from Qualcomm, according to an unconfirmed report.

    Per the Commercial Times report, Infineon will not provide the baseband chip for the fifth-generation iPhone. Infineon’s wireless unit was sold to Intel for US$1.4 billion in August.

    According to the report, the next-generation Apple smartphone, which is expected next year, will still be manufactured by the Hon Hai Group and Foxconn, and will include a Qualcomm baseband chip this time around.

    A move away from Infineon would break with precedent. Infineon has supplied Apple with the baseband chip for the iPad 3G and all of the Cupertino, Calif., company’s iPhone models since the smartphone was first released in 2007.

    There has been little indication of trouble in the relationship between Infineon and Apple. After the Intel-Infineon deal, Intel CEO Paul Otellini told Fox Business that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was “very happy” with it.

    On the other hand, relations between Apple and Intel have been tense as of late. Otellini made comments earlier this week criticizing the newly released Apple TV as a “step backward,” especially when compared to the Intel-powered Google TV products set to be released this month.

    A Qualcomm broadband chip would match rumors that Apple is developing a CDMA iPhone. Qualcomm invented the now widely-used CDMA technology. A cryptic “iPhone developer guru” job posting on the Qualcomm website in August claimed that respondents would work on “the most challenging product” of their lives.

    Several analysts see a switch to Qualcomm by Apple as the right move. In light of the Intel-Infineon deal, “Apple may want to diversify its supplier base to reduce dependency on a single supplier,” said Manikandan Raman with the Motley Fool.

    With a 69% share of the CDMA mobile phone chipset market, Qualcomm would be the “logical choice” to help Apple expand to other networks, said Barclays Capital analyst Andrew Gardiner. “Infineon’s wireless unit doesn’t offer chips for CDMA technology.”

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.