In Session 147 – Advanced Performance Optimization at WWDC last week Apple put up a slide that listed the amount of memory in each iDevice. At the time there was an audible gasp from the audience followed by frenetic note taking. As far as I know this was the first time Apple has ever officially confirmed the amount of memory in these devices. Since all WWDC sessions are covered by a special NDA, I cannot reveal the contents of the slide. But if you go 1:55 into the WWDC video you can see it for yourself.
It has been widely reported that the iPhone 4 will have twice the memory of the iPad. This is curious since at the time the iPad was released with the new A4 SOC with the integrated memory in the chip, it was assumed there was a physical limitation to the amount of memory that could be put in the SOC. It is great to see that Apple has broken through that barrier.
Having the exact same chip in the iPhone 4 as the iPad would make sense to gain efficiencies from scale. And given Apple’s margins on their products I can’t imagine that bumping up the memory would be too much of a financial burden. So why not quietly upgrade the iPad processor with the iPhone 4 version that has double the memory? Isn’t this why Apple never advertises the amount of memory in their iDevices, so they have the flexibility to make changes at their convenience?
June 28th, 2010 at 13:26
Hi Nick,
could you clarify the position on that video? I’m looking at sessions135 and 147, both ‘Advanced Performance Optimization’ and both under an hour.
I can’t see any sign of that slide…
thanks.
June 28th, 2010 at 14:30
Try 1 minute and 55 seconds.