Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

macworld.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 192 posts

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#161

Post by Reason077 »

saagarjha wrote: post #131
kitsunesoba wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that the simulator only needs to run the iOS front end on top of macOS Darwin instead of a full copy of iOS, though. Couldn’t something similar be done with Android on Linux, running x86 Android and using the host system’s kernel?

> It certainly doesn’t hurt that the simulator only needs to run the iOS front end on top of macOS Darwin instead of a full copy of iOS, though. Uh, no. The simulator literally boots an entire copy of iOS, with its own libraries, frameworks, and utilities, that's entirely separate from the host OS.

That is incorrect. The iOS simulator is not a virtualized environment. It's not running it's own kernel etc, rather it's just a set of iOS libraries and frameworks built for x86 and a thin compatibility layer so that they run on macOS.

You can actually see your running iOS applications, and all of the iOS daemons etc show up as first class processes on you Mac if you run "ps".

iOS apps running in the simulator are not separate from the host OS at all - they're running on the host OS, just like any other process. Try killing "Springboard" from your Mac command line and watch what happens inside the simulator...

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#162

Post by protomyth »

fastball wrote: post #152
protomyth wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most of the day my Macbook Pro is basically a computer with one port plugged into a dock with its case shut since I like using my LG 21x9 screen more than the built in screen.

Right but your Macbook has a large battery. Something it wouldn't really make sense to have if you were going for a very small form factor.

Remove the battery and screen, you get the Mac equivalent of the Intel Stick. Depending on price, I could very much see buying a lot of them for the students (with a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter or equivalent for their home use).

[Edit]I would then stock the labs with docking ports like something from CalDigit and LG displays.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#163

Post by hencoappel »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #87
ratsimihah wrote: post #65

Have chips ever been critical features? I mean the ones that add features like NFC ok, but doesn't every chip make phones "faster"?

The 508 in my Nexus 5X is not quite quick enough to be smooth all the time so I can definitely see an improvement jumping to a more modern SOC. But the improvements have slowed down as mobile hit the same sort of limits that desktop had already exposed and now it is on for the same very slow progression of improvement.

Think you mean Snapdragon 805

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#164

Post by npunt »

amelius wrote: post #158
Finch2192 wrote: post #107

Can someone explain to me why this matters? It feels like CPU advancements in recent memory have brought nothing at all. It used to be, in the early days of smartphones, every generation brought something very new, something that can truly be considered an improvement. I remember the first dual core phone, the first quad core, etc. Nowadays, there is no noticeable difference at all. Even now, where phones have indeed…

Why would Apple cannibalize their desktop products? Apple wants to sell more devices, not less. And it also helps their iCloud business (which wouldn't exist if everybody had only one device).

Agree with your second point.

Re:cannibalization, Apple is more than willing to cannibalize their products - just see iPod Nano v Mini, iPhone v iPod, iPad v Mac, iPad 2018 v iPad Pro. It's part of their playbook to cannibalize themselves, so that competitors don't wind up sneaking in market segments. This is enabled by organizing the company functionally rather than by product line, which lets them avoid the 'strategy tax' of pre-existing divisions that own products wanting to keep those products alive (bureaucracies self-perpetuate and all that).

That said, a phone that converts to a desktop (at least in how I think OP and others who bring this up think of it) is not part of the playbook, because its making the device do double-duty in UI/UX. See iPad not having a mouse.

I think Apple's perspective is that the glue that ties mobile UX to seated/desktop UX together is the cloud, and to your point, that involves multiple devices. The exception is non-interactive content (AirPlay), which third parties can license.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#165

Post by npunt »

ratsimihah wrote: post #65

Have chips ever been critical features? I mean the ones that add features like NFC ok, but doesn't every chip make phones "faster"?

Chips are the enabler to all sorts of critical features and user experiences. Its not just the chip - hardware architecture and software are there too, but three examples:

- maintaining device responsiveness for more and more complex software and higher resolution displays

- 120fps UI (iPad Pro)

- 4k60 video

Re:4k60, try to find another device besides the iPhone that can shoot 4k60 that isn't professional equipment. Best you have is the new Samsung S9 which can do so for a whopping 5 minutes. That's primarily the chip.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#166

Post by Bud »

derefr wrote: post #130
tambourine_man wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a flying unicorn, but still a winged equine: the Mac Nano. A tiny white puck with a single usb-c plug for power and data. Inside, an A12 running OS X. Education and “enthusiast” market. GPIO as a dongle, of course. They can release the A13 version in colors the next year :)

Have you tried developing apps for the Apple TV? It's basically like that; just too low-powered to actually run macOS.

It most definitely is not. Not anymore. It's just as capable as recent Mac minis. A10X Fusion is a very decent chip.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#167

Post by Bud »

derefr wrote: post #127
fastball wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm confused as to how you have a computer with only a single port... what do you imagine plugging the one port into?

A USB-C Thunderbolt Display that delivers power over the cable and has a USB hub built into it. These exist, though they're expensive. Or, an eGPU enclosure, which also delivers power over the cable and has a USB hub built into it. (You just need to plug a monitor into it.) These exist, and are surprisingly cheap if you buy them bundled with a graphics card.

Not all Mac USB-C ports are Thunderbolt, though...for instance, in the MacBooks.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#168

Post by hedora »

ajross wrote: post #84
lsiunsuex wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worse is the array of smart devices that are forced to use Android type hardware / Android OS. Looking at the Peloton cycle I have specifically which clearly runs Android OS. Could be so much better if it was on faster hardware / could link up to Apple Watch for stats. Make a version of iOS that companies can build off of; maintain the OS patch cycles but let them put their own app / front end on it. Tons of smart de…

That's an interestingly spun perspective. So you're asking for Apple to produce an open source ecosystem around their hardware and OS, while simultaneously refusing to use the products of the company that did? No devices are "forced" to use "Android type hardware / Android OS". They use it because it's free. That's... important. Right?

Android isn’t “free” in the FOSS or Beer sense of the word.

The important bits (hardware drivers and core applications) aren’t open source (AOSP doesn’t include the new default apps or standard libraries.

Also, the important stuff is tied to google services that spy on you.

I think it’s completely reasonable to reject that stack, and lament that no one offers a high quality, supported alternative software stack at a reasonable price.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#169

Post by jonhendry18 »

Finch2192 wrote: post #107

Can someone explain to me why this matters? It feels like CPU advancements in recent memory have brought nothing at all. It used to be, in the early days of smartphones, every generation brought something very new, something that can truly be considered an improvement. I remember the first dual core phone, the first quad core, etc. Nowadays, there is no noticeable difference at all. Even now, where phones have indeed…

"The one thing I want to see, but nobody seems to be doing it, is a phone that converts into a desktop."

Samsung has its "DeX Dock" which lets you turn your Samsung phone into an Android desktop, and use the phone as a trackpad.

Re: Apple's 7nm A12 chip could be the best feature in the 2018 iPhones

#170

Post by hedora »

fastball wrote: post #122
lsiunsuex wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worse is the array of smart devices that are forced to use Android type hardware / Android OS. Looking at the Peloton cycle I have specifically which clearly runs Android OS. Could be so much better if it was on faster hardware / could link up to Apple Watch for stats. Make a version of iOS that companies can build off of; maintain the OS patch cycles but let them put their own app / front end on it. Tons of smart de…

Why would that be good for Apple?

It would be good (and bad) for the same reasons it was for microsoft + intel back in the ‘80s.
Post reply on HN