O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: RF

  • Rumor: Apple to switch to TSMC to provide improved battery for iPhone 14 models

    Rumor: Apple to switch to TSMC to provide improved battery for iPhone 14 models

    As nifty as 5G functionality may be, it may come at a hefty cost to an iPhone’s battery life. As such, reports have indicated that Apple may switch to supplier TSMC for both a reduced battery cost as well as improved battery life with the iPhone 14 handset.

    While TSMC doesn’t typically comment on single customer orders, it’s been noted that TSMC will be producing 5G RF chips using the company’s 6 nanometer production process, and that Apple is likely the largest buyer of the wafers. TSMC’s 6nm process reportedly offers a significant reduction in power consumption.

    The new process also allows for physically smaller chips, all while still taking into account the performance, functions, and battery life customers want. Shrinking the size of the RF chip frees up space for additional battery capacity, too.

    It’s been noted that the 5G RF chip doesn’t just handle cellular activity, and can work as a multifunction component that also enables Wi-Fi connections.

    Current models of the iPhone support Wi-Fi 6, but the latest 6E standard is gaining popularity. It’s thought that the Wi-Fi 6E protocol will be present in the upcoming iPhone 14. This could allow for double the Wi-Fi antennas, increasing both bandwidth and download speeds on Wi-Fi.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and Economic Daily News

  • Broadcom signs on to two multi-year deals to continue supplying wireless components to Apple

    Broadcom will continue its long-running relationship with Apple, as the company has stated that it has negotiated two multi-year deals to supply wireless components to Apple.

    The agreements, referred to as “2020 SOWs,” are on top of existing contracts with Apple and could be worth a combined $15 billion

    The exact specifics of the deals are presently unknown.

    Broadcom currently supplies Apple with radio-frequency front end components used in products such as the iPhone and iPad.

    The chipmaker has been a key Apple supplier for well over a decade, furnishing components that helped flagship products like iPhone 3G connect to cellular and Wi-Fi networks. In addition to RF parts, the company supplies touchscreen controllers and wireless charging modules. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and Reuters

  • Wi-Fi, similar signals don’t cause cancer

    And now for a bit of good news: Apparently Wi-Fi and similar signals don’t cause cancer.

    Per an article over on HowStuffWorks, everyday devices such as Wi-Fi routers, smartphones, tablets, and computers are unable to cause cancer, and would be unable to do so without rewriting the basic laws of physics and biology.

    The piece, which cites credible sources like the American Cancer Society, there have been two types of studies that look at RF radiation: Ones that observe human cancer rates and others involving lab animals. The human studies haven’t found a link between increased cancer rates and people exposed to a significant amount of RF radiation.

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  • Rumor: Audio file of Jamal Khashoggi’s interrogation/murder could have been captured by Apple Watch, stored in iCloud servers

    Following the apparent disappearance and murder of Washington Post columnist James Khashoggi, wherein Khashoggi visited the Saudi Arabian embassy and is thought to have been tortured, interrogated, and murdered by assassins waiting inside, speculation has arisen as to whether an audio recording of the murder was caught by Khashoggi’s Apple Watch.

    The Apple Watch, noted as an LTE Series 3 that he’d been seen wearing in public before, is speculated to have been synced and within Bluetooth range of his iPhone, which was in the possession of Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. Cengiz was waiting outside the consulate during the exchange, assumedly within Bluetooth range of the Apple Watch in question.

    At this time, there is no clear explanation as to how the audio was transferred to Khashoggi’s iPhone, or how the data found its way to Apple’s iCloud servers.

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  • iFixit posts full iPhone 8 teardown

    If you’re curious about the internal components of the iPhone 8, the cool humans at iFixit have already performed a full teardown and posted their findings to the Internet.

    The teardown revealed a True Tone Retina display, Qi wireless charging support, Touch ID Home button, and improved camera sensors. Other components include an A11 Bionic processor, iFixit found 2 GB RAM, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X16 LTE modem and Gigabit LTE RF transceiver, Skyworks quad-band GSM power amplifier module, NXP secure NFC module, a Broadcom wireless charging chip, and more.

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