18 iPhone Life January/February 2014
When Apple touted the new A7 64-bit processor in the
iPhone 5s, some critics said it was a gimmick that wouldn't
mean much in terms of user experience. The critics were
wrong. Subsequent testing showed that the iPhone 5s is the
world's fastest smartphone. Everything simply works faster,
from running apps to downloading videos. So it's big news
that Apple is now using the chip in the iPad.
Make no mistake: this chip paves the way for the iPad's
future. It gives the iPad the robust processing power close to
that of a desktop computer. What's the big deal about 64-bit
processing? A 32-bit chip can only address a maximum of
4GB of memory, whereas a 64-bit chip can address up to 16
"exabytes," with an exabyte being 1 billion gigabytes. Apple is
focused on creating a platform for years to come.
Plus, Apple has provided tools to developers to make it easy
to port their apps to 64-bit versions, so your favorite apps
should quickly be able to take advantage of the greater power
of the A7 chip.
The new iPad mini is almost the same size as the old one—
just a tiny bit thicker, but imperceptibly so. That’s remarkable.
And it’s remarkable that the iPad Air can be so thin. Why?
Most tablets with high-resolution displays achieve that by
making compromises. The reason is that the higher resolu-
tion takes a lot more battery power. So the compromise is
a heavier device because of the larger battery needed. Or in
order to get the weight down, the device has a smaller bat-
tery and, therefore, shorter battery life. Even Apple’s original
Retina iPads were heavier and thicker than the iPad 2 for just
this reason.
But the A7 processor changes things. It uses power more
efficiently so the battery can be smaller, yet it’s robust enough
to easily power the Retina display. So Apple’s tablets can offer
a combination of high resolution, battery life, and small size
that no other tablet offers.
The iPad Air has a 31 percent smaller battery than the previous
model, yet still has a 10-hour battery life. The Retina iPad mini,
too, remains svelte while also offering a 10-hour battery life.
The new iPads both still have a 5-megapixel iSight camera
and 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera. But both cameras are
improved. The FaceTime camera has a new backside illumina-
tion sensor with larger pixels, which creates a brighter image
and works better in low-light situations.
In addition, the image signal processor in the new A7 makes
many adjustments on the fly to automatically improve the
quality of the iSight camera photos and videos.
The iPhone 5s was the first to have the M7 coprocessor, and
it’s great to see it’s also in the new iPads. This is a very low-
power processor that continuously captures the data from the
iPad’s accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. This frees up
the A7 processor to focus on other things, and saves on power.
It’s useful for fitness and other apps that depend on move-
ment, and many such apps have now been redesigned to take
advantage. But even more than that, it gives the device a new
level of intelligence. The wealth of data being captured by this
chip will, for example, let your device know when you’ve got-
ten in your car and are driving down the road. Apple intends to
use this data to give you information relevant to the context.
So if there’s a traffic jam up ahead, your iPad will alert you.
Another use might be apps that postpone notifications if the
M7 processor senses you’re driving or running.
Another feature worthy of note is the addition of dual mi-
crophones. They not only gather more sound, but also do a
better job of capturing sound by reducing background noise.
This improves recordings and also makes it easier for Siri to
understand you.
In addition, the new iPads have dual-band, multi-input/multi-
output Wi-Fi, with download speeds of up to 300 Mbps. That’s
Thin Bodies, Long Battery Life
Improved Cameras
M7 Coprocessor
Dual Mics, Faster Wi-Fi