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New Apple iPhone A9 CPU giving mixed results

Thomas Wellburn
October 7, 2015

Apple seem to be having a bit of trouble with their new A9 CPU’s, with some users reporting overheating issues and underwhelming battery life.

The Apple A9 is a powerful chip that’s around 50% faster than the one used in the previous iPhone 6. It’s conquered the benchmarks tests, showing strong single-core performance results that far surpass any smartphone currently available to buy. It’s also been subject to a few criticisms from users relating to overheating and strange battery issues.

A lesser-known fact that Apple were keen to keep secret is that the A9 chip is actually developed by two separate manufacturers. Both Samsung and TSMC were contracted to produce the new CPU, though the products carry subtle differences. Your iPhone 6s may not be the same as your friends and vice-versa. It turns out that the Samsung A9 is built on a smaller 14 nanometre manufacturing process than the TSMC, which uses the older 16 nanometre standard.

You would expect the Samsung to run cooler and retain better battery life but surprisingly, this is not the case. Forum users from both Reddit and Mac Rumours have been busy conducting tests for both versions and have found that the TSMC chip actually gives approximately 2 hours better battery life versus the Samsung. That’s a significant difference that easily separates a battery from being ‘mediocre’, rather than ‘good’.

Many critics have been unimpressed with the battery life of the iPhone 6s while others have said it’s decent. As it turns out, it could all be down to the luck of the draw…

For more on Apple, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Apple page.

Via Reddit and MacRumors

 

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