How important is the self-developed chip for Apple?
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “爱范儿” (ID: Ifanr), author Chen Wenjun.
Speaking of UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) technology, I believe many people will think of the new U1 chip in iPhone 11 this year. With the help of this new chip, the iPhone can have directional transmission and higher transmission efficiency when using air-to-air delivery.
In our previous measurements, it took only 12 seconds for two iPhone 11 to transmit 500MB of video, which is twice as high as non-UWB transmission. In scenes such as restaurants and subway stations where there are many people and complex communications, UWB technology is six times faster than non-UWB.
However, although there are various measurements and analysis on the network, whether the U1 chip is Apple’s self-research or third-party supply, this question has not been an accurate answer before.
Not long ago, Brian Roemmele, editor of foreign media Quora, analyzed the “inside” of the U1 chip, and finally came up with the DW1000 chip that may be supplied by the Irish chip design company Decawave.
From the introduction document of DW1000, DW1000 can also support UWB ultra-wideband technology. The minimum positioning error is only within 10 cm, and it can be used for two-way ranging and indoor positioning.The text description, DW1000 and U1 do have many similarities.
However, the literal contrast does not support the idea that U1 is the DW1000 vest chip. In the disassembly of iFixit, disassemblers indicated that U1 used the same standards as Decawave and was compatible with third-party devices using the company’s chips, but U1 and DW1000 were quite different in chip design.
U1 chip near the A13 processor
More powerful evidence is the disassembly report of another agency, TechInsights. They compared the U1 and DW1000 chips and found that the 802.15.4z chipset on the chip was actually designed by Apple itself, and the chip design was completely different from the DW1000.
In this report, TechInsights disassemblers introduced to iFixit editor Craig Lloyd:
Apple designed a chipset compatible with the 802.15.4z protocol for the U1 chip, which is compatible with Decawave products. But despite this, according to TechInsights’ chip analysis report, the U1 chip is completely different from the DW1000.
At this point, U1 is the apple self-developed chip, and the argument is finally settled.
This chip is compatible with Decawave’s third-party products, but due to the characteristics of the self-developed chipset, the U1 chip in Apple devices will not have a vest or “draw”.
The current U1 chip-enabled devices are only three iPhones in the iPhone 11 series, but from Apple’s past rhythm of similar chips and the advantages of UWB, it’s clear that the iPhone won’tIt is the only device equipped with a U1 chip.
For Apple’s future application of U1 (or UWB technology), I think the following major module products are likely to become development targets.
In recent years, Apple has made the iPad a professional productivity tool. The software features from the iPad Pro peripheral hardware package to the iPadOS are all in the perspective of the evolution of the iPad family from the past big screen iOS devices to portable computers.
As an important member of the Apple Productivity Tools camp, it is also an important iOS (iPadOS) device, and I believe that the new iPad Pro will become the second product with U1 chip.
In addition, UWB’s fast and stable transfer speed will enable a more efficient file transfer experience for future MacBook and iPhone/iPad cross-platform transfers, especially for users who frequently transfer 1-2GB files across platforms. UWB can save at least one-third of the transmission time, which is obviously a solution to the user’s transmission pain points.
So adding a U1 chip to a macOS device is also necessary.
16-inch MacBook Pro concept map. Image courtesy of: Macrumors
With UWB’s more precise positioning advantages, the U1 chip can also help find lost items.
In fact, before this year’s Apple Autumn Conference, Apple Object Tracker based on UWB technology (AppleThe message of Tag) has been widely spread on the network. Users can use mobile phone software to locate lost objects. Due to the high precision of UWB, users can easily get the lost position of the bundle tracker.
AirPods perspective. Image courtesy of iFixit
On the other hand, iFixit believes AirPods is a “candidate” for UWB technology in related reports. This technology can help users find lost AirPods headsets (this is good!), but Since the space inside the earplug is very limited, it is unlikely that a new chip will be added to the current mold.
In general, through the performance of the U1 chip in the iPhone 11 series, we can see that UWB technology has a visible improvement in device positioning and file transfer speed.
But it’s because of the benefits of UWB, so I don’t think the iPhone is the only Apple device that supports UWB technology, and with the help of this self-designed design, I’m even more I believe this technology will soon be applied to computers, peripheral hardware and even AR glasses that have been living in rumors.