We already said that the S1, Apple Watch processor, has 512MB of RAM, more than 10 components and brings, for the first time, sensors such as built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. This finding was made in quick analysis, but now the Chipworks really broke the S1!
Pear summary: we jumped from just over 10 components to over 30! Everything inside a piece measuring only 26x28mm, which was considered a great achievement by Chipworks.
The processor itself (APL0778; 5.2 Ă— 6.2mm) produced by Samsung, in a 28 nanometer manufacturing process. We can say that this is relatively outdated, that is, the next versions of the Watch have everything to count on much smaller and more efficient processors, freeing space inside the S1 for other components.
Continuing with the list of manufacturers, Cirrus (a very old Apple supplier for codecs audio) was switched to Maxim. The NFC controller and the "Secure Element" are the responsibility of NXP, while AMS delivers the signal amplifier. STMicroelectronics is the supplier of the accelerometer / gyro sensors, as well as the encoder that controls the Digital Crown. Texas Instruments produces six components for the Watch, such as the battery controller. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are the responsibilities of Broadcom, which is also a very old partner of Ma.
This is the kind of innovation that we hardly see, but that is essential to get where we are.
(via AppleInsider)
