S1 processor, an in-depth look at the heart of the Apple Watch
Un vistazo a los chips personalizados de Apple y la incógnita del S1
Since its announcement in September last year, one of the components that most caught the attention of the new Apple Watch was precisely its S1 processor , with which a new series was released along with the A and M, which as we know, Apple usually manufactures under a rigorous exclusive design for their devices.
During that launch and as a constant in the company, no technical specifications or aspects of this new S1 processor were disclosed beyond the use experience and a brief explanation was given on its website. But now after the iFixit guys dismantled the new clock, ABI Research has been in charge of analyzing in detail this new processor in order to know the power that the Apple Watch offers.
That’s how Apple refers to its new S1, no specifications , cores, power or speed, so it’s time to find out the details behind this new chip designed by Apple for its new watch.
The first thing that stands out about this S1 is that everything is concentrated and packed in a small module resistant to wear and tear and weather changes, thus obtaining its IPX7 certification that makes it submersible in up to 1 meter of depth for 30 minutes, although Apple recommends not to do so.
The processor integrates in this tiny space, a Broadcom BCM43342 chip with WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and FM Radio connectivity, although the latter is not enabled. We also observe an NXP controller and a signal amplifier manufactured by AMS that will serve us for NFC connectivity and the Apple Pay system.
On the other hand, the image also shows that we are looking at a module manufactured by Elpida with 512 MB of RAM, an 8 GB Flash memory manufactured by either SanDisk or Toshiba, an STM chip for the accelerometer and gyroscope, an ADI controller for the touch functions and finally an IDT module for the wireless charging.
But the real heart of the S1 is the tiny central processor identified as APL 0778 which ensures that all the components described above do their job in conjunction with Watch OS to provide a satisfying experience for users.
Without a doubt the Apple S1 is an amazing piece of engineering thanks to the never before seen miniaturization work, a processor equivalent to the Apple A5 , the SoC of the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S, but in a considerably smaller size.
At Apple
