If you are one of the many people who are interested in news about the next Apple iPhone, currently dubbed the iPhone 5, then you’ll already have heard many of the specs and features rumored. One of the most persistent rumors has been a step up to an A6 quad-core processor but that seems to be in some doubt and we now wonder if the iPhone 5’s success on release will be dented if it arrives lacking quad-core.
It’s inevitable that the iPhone 5 will be a hit, almost regardless of how it actually turns out, as the iPhone is such an iconic handset and Apple devotees are an extremely loyal bunch. However it seems there will be a positive cornucopia of smartphone offerings this year featuring the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor and very soon dual-core processor smartphones will seem outdated. Even before the release of the iPhone 4S last year there were rumblings of the iPhone stepping up to an A6 processor that would be quad-core and those rumors have grown.
In November we heard of what is likely to be the first quad-core smartphone release, the HTC Edge, and then in December we told how Apple was reportedly testing two new versions for the iPhone 5, one dual-core and one quad-core. Increasingly since then it had looked probable that the next iPhone would feature a quad-core chip. However a recent report told how the A6 processor for the upcoming iPad 3 could be dual-core and not quad-core, news that surprised a good few people, including us, and implied that the iPhone 5 processor may also be dual-core instead of quad-core. At this stage of the game though we have no way of knowing as the usual Apple secrecy is in place regarding new products. One thing we do know for sure though, is that even if the iPhone 5 lacks a quad-core processor, there will be plenty of devices around that do feature quad-core.
As well as the HTC Edge we’ve since heard of many more new handsets and a few days ago told how NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core smartphones could actually start launching in this first quarter, according to NVIDIA’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. We’re expecting to see many more unveiled at Mobile World Congress later this month including the LG X3 and more offerings from HTC such as the Endeavor and Zeta. There’s also widespread talk that Samsung’s flagship, the Galaxy S III (S3), expected to be announced in March, will also sport a quad-core processor.
So how important is a quad-core processor for the iPhone 5? Last year we would have said it was not so important, especially as dual-core smartphones hadn’t long been in existence and were very much ‘the latest thing.’ However as we now know that quad-core Android handsets are expected very soon, with Windows 8 quad-core smartphones apparently due later this year, the lack of quad-core for the iPhone 5 could certainly impact on how successful it is. Many iPhone fans could be turned off by the fact that it doesn’t feature the very latest type of processor, although as we said earlier it would still no doubt be a big hit with diehards.
We’d be really interested in hearing your thoughts on this. It may be some months before we hear confirmation of whether the iPhone 5 will be released with a quad-core processor but if quad-core is lacking, how much of an impact do you think this would have on its success? Maybe you think quad-core is not so important to you but you would be more deterred if the iPhone 5 lacked LTE or a bigger screen for example? Let us know with your comments.
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