iPhone 6s Teardown: A9, M9 Processors Secret Sauce

The new iPhone is a fast phone. The iPhone tear-down detailed below reveals that the processor A9 is packaged together with the mobility processor M9. "A9 package itself appears bigger—roughly 14.5 x 15 mm, up from 13.5 x 14.5 mm on the A8. That could represent a smaller die plus the addition of the embedded M9"

Placing both processors in close proximity in one package reduces the delay in operations that use both processors. For example operations using the new 3D touch technology. 

In addition, increasing the DRAM size to 2GB  LPDDR4 DRAM , also increase the speed of the phone by providing additional storage enabling more operations to occur at the same time in parallel.

It is also interesting that the battery "1715 mAh. It's a small but notable decrease from the 1810 mAh battery in last year's iPhone 6 "  is smaller. Using one package for A9 and M9 processors, and a larger LPDDR4 DRAM help to reduce power consumption.

Ron
Insightful, timely, and accurate semiconductor consulting.
Semiconductor information and news at - http://www.maltiel-consulting.com/

iPhone 6s Teardown

Step 1 — iPhone 6s Teardown 

• The 6s may look the same as last year's iPhone, but there are plenty of new features in this phone:
  • Apple A9 processor with embedded M9 motion coprocessor
  • 16, 64, or 128 GB of storage
  • 4.7-inch 1334 × 750 pixels (326 ppi) Retina HD display with 3D Touch
  • 12 MP iSight camera supporting 4K video recording with 1.22 µ pixels, and a 5 MP FaceTime HD camera
  • 7000 Series aluminum enclosure and Ion-X Glass
  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO + Bluetooth 4.2 + NFC + 23-band LTE
  • Taptic Engine
  • ......

  • Step 14 

    • It turns out the rumors were true—battery capacity is down a bit, likely in order to make room for new features like the Taptic Engine and slightly thicker display.
    • The Lithium-ion pack comes in at 3.8 V, 6.55 Whr, and 1715 mAh. It's a small but notable decrease from the 1810 mAh battery in last year's iPhone 6.
    • This iPhone's battery still has the same identity issues as last year's. It seems to think it's from Apple South Asia (Thailand) Limited, Apple Japan, and is made in Changsu, China.
    • Nevertheless, Apple says battery life holds steady at up to 14 hours of 3G talk time and 10 days of standby—the same as in the iPhone 6. ...
    • ...

  • Step 17 

    • And now, for the moment we've all been waiting for... It's time to reveal some ICs on the front of the logic board:
      • Apple A9 APL0898 SoC + Samsung 2 GB LPDDR4 RAM (as denoted by the markings K3RG1G10BM-BGCH)
      • Qualcomm MDM9635M LTE Cat. 6 Modem (vs. the MDM9625M found in the iPhone 6)
      • InvenSense MP67B 6-axis Gyroscope and Accelerometer Combo (also found in iPhone 6)
      • Bosch Sensortec 3P7 LA 3-axis Accelerometer (likely BMA280)
      • TriQuint TQF6405 Power Amplifier Module
      • Skyworks SKY77812 Power Amplifier Module
      • Avago AFEM-8030 Power Amplifier Module
    

    
    

    EditStep 18 

    • Two more ICs on the front of the logic board:
      • 57A6CVI
      • Qualcomm QFE1100 Envelope Tracking IC
    • Based on alleged schematics leaked last month, the rumor mill had the A9 pegged at a 15% smaller die size from the A8. We can't confirm the die size, but the A9 package itself appears bigger—roughly 14.5 x 15 mm, up from 13.5 x 14.5 mm on the A8. That could represent a smaller die plus the addition of the embedded M9 and other functions.
    

    6 EditStep 19 

    • But wait, there's more! We'll double your order of chips absolutely free!
      • Toshiba THGBX5G7D2KLFXG 16 GB 19 nm NAND Flash
      • Universal Scientific Industrial 339S00043 Wi-Fi Module
      • NXP 66V10 NFC Controller (vs. 65V10 found in iPhone 6)
      • Apple/Dialog 338S00120 Power Management IC
      • Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S00105 Audio IC
      • Qualcomm PMD9635 Power Management IC
      • Skyworks SKY77357 Power Amplifier Module (likely an iteration of theSKY77354)
    

    1 EditStep 20 

    • More ICs on the back of the logic board:
      • Murata 240 Front-End Module
      • Possibly a Bosch Sensortec barometric pressure sensor BMP280
      • RF Micro Devices RF5150 Antenna Switch
      • NXP 1610A3 (likely an iteration of the1610A1 found in the iPhone 5s and 5c)
      • Apple/Cirrus Logic 338S1285 Audio IC (likely an iteration of the 338S1202 audio codec found in the iPhone 5s)
      • Texas Instruments 65730AOP Power Management IC
      • Qualcomm WTR3925 Radio Frequency Transceiver