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<p> While we typically don't comment on rumors we don't know to be true at AnandTech, we often get requests to help set rational expectations ahead of major iDevice launches. The shroud of secrecy around major Apple launches can pave the way for both sensible and unrealistic conclusions.</p> <p> Given the growth of Apple's iPhone/iPad devices, it has become increasingly difficult for suppliers in the chain to remain mum about any changes. Similar to how we often get early access to CPUs, motherboards and other components out of Taiwan, it has become increasingly commonplace to see leaks of iDevice components out of the big ODMs in China.</p> <p> Apple is largely expected to launch its sixth iPhone next month. The historical cadence of design, SoC, and cellular changes are in the table below:</p> <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" width="575"> <tbody> <tr class="tgrey"> <td align="center" colspan="8"> Apple iPhone - Historical Trends</td> </tr> <tr class="tlblue"> <td width="120">  </td> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="85"> Release Year</td> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="85"> Industrial Design</td> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="85"> CPU Architecture</td> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="85"> GPU Architecture</td> <td align="center" valign="middle" width="85"> Cellular Architecture</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2007</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 1st gen</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ARM11</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> MBX-lite</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Infineon S-Gold 2</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone 3G</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2008</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2nd gen</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ARM11</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> MBX-lite</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Infineon X-Gold 608</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone 3GS</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2009</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2nd gen</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Cortex A8</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> SGX-535</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Infineon X-Gold 608</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone 4</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2010</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 3rd gen</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Cortex A8</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> SGX-535</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Infineon X-Gold 618 in 4 GSM / Qualcomm MDM6600 in 4 CDMA</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone 4S</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2011</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 3rd gen</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2 x Cortex A9</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> SGX-543MP2</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> Qualcomm MDM6610 (MDM6600 w/ ext. trans)</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tlgrey"> iPhone Next</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> 2012</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ?</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ?</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ?</td> <td align="center" valign="middle"> ?</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> Trends are pretty easy to spot in the table. With the exception of the first iPhone, the industrial design appears to be on a 2-year cadence. The CPU and GPU architectures are also on the same 2-year cadence. From a silicon standpoint even the cellular architecture is trending towards the same 2-year cadence, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. GSM/CDMA iPhone 4 divide).</p> <p> Based on historical trends alone it's pretty easy to conclude that we'll see a 4th generation chassis, a pair of ARM Cortex A9s and a PowerVR SGX 543MP2 under the hood. Add the assumption of LTE (a reasonable one to make) and you have a pretty believable story. It turns out the currently available evidence helps corroborate this, but let's dig through what's out there to see how this all fits.</p><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'></td><td valign='middle'></td></tr></table></div><br/><br/>

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Source: AnandTech
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