What is 64 bit iphone

What 64-bit means for the future of the iPhone (and why it could make the iPhone 5C a bad deal)

For a phone that could easily be mistaken for last year’s iPhone 5, the iPhone 5S crams some major hardware updates into that familiar frame, not the least of which is the move toward 64-bit architecture with the new Apple 7 processor. This means a version of iOS 7 with native 64-bit support, but how does that translate for the future of the platform?

Let’s start by figuring out why a 64-bit processor might be desirable for smartphone users. Breaking it down to the most rudimentary explanation, 64-bit allows a processor to crunch much larger numbers than its 32-bit equivalent. That is, it does so in a more efficient way thanks to an increased number of registers. This means the processor itself can handle higher loads before doubling down on computation or shifting some of the information being processed to the device’s RAM.

A processor that can handle more upfront means a smartphone needs fewer specialized components to handle things like WiFi, 4G, Bluetooth, and GPS input. At the very least, it should need to communicate with these components less frequently. It adds up to both faster processing and greater efficiency. Greater efficiency could have wondrous benefits for battery life, among other things.

So we can understand why 64-bit has its benefits for those going out to purchase the iPhone 5S on launch day (and, believe me, there is much more to it than my simple explanation above), but what does it mean in the long run?

The iPhone 5C, which was announced alongside the iPhone 5S, is a 32-bit device. This means Apple will support both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures for the at least the next couple of years.

And the apps we use? Right now they are optimized for 32-bit, and they will continue to be as developers will need some time to optimize their wares for a 64-bit platform. That’s all fine in the short term. 64-bit can handle 32-bit applications just fine, and given the power of the iPhone 5S’ A7 CPU there is little rush to move toward 64-bit support right away.

But over time this will change. Future iPhone models will most definitely be based on 64-bit architecture. Apps will begin to launch with 64-bit versions as the default. 32-bit will be phased out of the ecosystem. And what happens over the next few years might give you reason to pause when considering which current iPhone model to purchase.

As long-time Googler and recent Yahoo hire Jean-Baptiste Queru notes, the shift to 64-bit could mean the iPhone 5C has a “useful life” that is shorter than that of the iPhone 5S. What that means is that in a future where 64-bit takes over, there will come a time when Apple ceases support for 32-bit devices. Whether that’s two years from now, three years, or ten, we can’t say.

It’s possible that most iPhone 5C users will have upgraded to a 64-bit device by the time Apple ends 32-bit support, but in principle, the iPhone 5S makes the smarter buy. It will be supported at least a year longer than the iPhone 5C (based on past iPhone release cycles).

For an equivalent to this predicament, we don’t need to look far. The move to 64-bit iPhone architecture is much like the move from PowerPC to Intel processors for Mac hardware. Apple supported PowerPC as long as it made sense, but eventually owners of older Mac computers (which arguably have a longer lifespan than most smartphones) were knocked out of the update tree.

A similar fate awaits the iPhone 5C (as well as the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, or any past iPhone model, for that matter), and therefor might not be a smart buy for those that don’t upgrade their smartphone on the normal two-year cycle (or more frequently). It’s a precarious time to be an iPhone buyer, as we are at the beginning of a major shift, just as it was for laptop buyers around the time that Apple started moving to Intel processing.

Do all the benefits of 64-bit justify sending the extra cash on the iPhone 5S? All thing considered, the answer is quite apparent to me. Despite a higher price tag, it more than pays in the long run to avoid skimping up front on the iPhone 5C.

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64-битный процессор iPhone 5s: мобильная революция Apple

В ходе презентации 10 сентября Apple объявила о том, что iPhone 5s является первым в мире смартфоном, оснащенным 64-битным процессором. Мобильный чип следующего поколения A7 предлагает «архитектуру класса настольных компьютеров».

Многие задаются вопросом о том, что означает «64-битный процессор» и какие преимущества он дает для смартфонов и планшетов. Эксперты считают, что, выпуская чип с архитектурой ARM, поддерживающий 64-битные инструкции, Apple создает задел на будущее.

На начальном этапе преимуществ у обычного пользователя будут немного. В основном это касается быстродействия операционной системы iOS 7 и стандартных приложений, но в дальнейшем 64-битный чип поможет приблизить платформу для мобильных устройств Apple к уровню компьютера. Однако начнем с бит.

32 или 64: что такое биты?

Если говорить о системах разрядности процессоров просто, то это количество бит, которые могут быть обработаны процессором за каждый его тактовый цикл. Может показаться, что 64-битная техника в два раза быстрее 32-битной. Но в действительности все несколько сложнее.

Наглядную аналогию привели пользователи сайта Reddit. Представьте себе, что процессор – это человек, присматривающий за большой библиотекой, какой является смартфон. У этого библиотекаря есть 32 помощника, приносящих ему книги, но каждый из них за раз может принести только один том.

Но вот приходит посетитель и просит выдать ему 65 книг, скажем, про динозавров. Таким образом, помощникам придется сходить за книгами три раза. За один раз они принесут 32 книги, потом еще 32, и останется еще одна книга, за которой придется идти в третий раз.

Если у библиотекаря 64 помощника, то процесс ускорится на треть, но не в два раза (ходить за книгами придется дважды: в первый заход помощники принесут 64 книги, а во второй одну). Если увеличить масштаб, польза от помощников вырастет: человека, которому нужно 256 книг, 64 помощника обслужат в два раза быстрее, чем 32.

То же самое и с битами. Но здесь есть два серьезных препятствия. Во-первых, разработчикам придется модернизировать свои программы, чтобы воспользоваться преимуществам 64-битной архитектуры. iOS 7 и все встроенные приложения были перекомпилированы под 64 бита. Однако должно пройти какое-то время, прежде чем такие же усилия приложат сторонние разработчики.

Во-вторых, хотя 64-битный процессор позволяет операционной системе использовать более 4 ГБ оперативной памяти (это предел для 32-битной операционной системы), в смартфонах такого объема оперативки пока просто нет. Apple не разглашает данные о количестве оперативной памяти в своих телефонах (хотя известно, что у iPhone 5 ее 1 ГБ), но даже у корейских аппаратов Samsung Galaxy Note III ее всего 3 Гб.

Для чего все-таки нужен 64-битный процессор в iPhone 5s?

Ответ кроется в том, что наши персональные компьютеры и мобильные устройства неуклонно сближаются по своим характеристикам. Интернет постепенно стирает грань между использованием смартфонов и ПК, в связи с чем мы, пользуясь разными устройствами, ощущаем между ними все меньше разницы.

У большинства современных моделей Mac и ПК, идущих сегодня в продажу, операционная система уже 64-битная, и переводя на 64 бита свои смартфоны, Apple готовится к будущему, где одними и теми же приложениями можно будет пользоваться как на мобильных устройствах, так и на ноутбуках и на стационарных компьютерах. Экосистема ПО на iOS приносит Apple огромную прибыль. Так почему бы не умножить этот успех, распространив его на модели iMac и Macbook?

Саша Сеган на страницах PCMag проводит краткий анализ этой тенденции, говоря о том, что «объединив операционные системы iOS и Mac с инструментами Xcode в 64-битном пространстве, Apple сумеет далеко опередить Microsoft и Google».

64-битный процессор в iPhone может и не осуществит ту мгновенную революцию, о которой говорят в Apple, но уже один этот факт свидетельствует о том, что это зрелая и дальновидная компания, смотрящая в будущее и на шаг опережающая конкурентов.

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What is 64-bit? iPhone 5S A7 chip explained

The arrival of Apple’s first 64-bit smartphone has been overshadowed by the iPhone 5S’ updated camera and the colourful iPhone 5C, but it’s a big deal that has huge ramifications for every future Apple device – as well as Intel, Google, Samsung and ARM. Mike Jennings explains the technical side and the implications for future iPhones, iPads and their Android competitors.

What is 64-bit and how does it work?

The term “64-bit” refers to the way processors handle calculations. It concerns the maths performed by computers at their most basic level: “bits” are tiny units that have values of either 0 or 1, and these are manipulated by the processor and written to a PC’s memory in order to complete tasks.

Smartphones that use older 32-bit processors can only work with data strings that consist of 32 characters – so they have a maximum range of just over 4 billion numbers. A 64-bit processor has a much larger range because of the increased number of digits available – data can be processed 64-bits at a time, rather than in 32-bit chunks.

SEE ALSO: iPad Air review

Imagine it this way: a team of 32 codebreakers at Bletchley Park try to crack the same code. It’s slow work – but double the codebreakers and it’ll be finished faster.

Or try this: you send 32 assistants to collect 128 items from the same shop. The

32 assistants will require four trips – but if you’ve got 64 assistants, they’ll only need two.

A 64-bit architecture is faster, gets more work done and is more efficient.

The 64-bit A7 processor in the iPhone 5S uses the ARM v8 architecture. It’s the first time this new chip has been used in a smartphone, and Apple claims it’s got twice the power as the A6 chip in the iPhone 5.

A 64-bit chip brings the iPhone 5S into line with the rest of the computing world. AMD and Intel have made 64-bit PC processors since the turn of the Millennium. The PS4 and Xbox One consoles both use 64-bit AMD chips.

SEE ALSO: Xbox One vs PS4

Does 64-bit bring real benefits?

The main benefit concerns the speed of mathematical calculation, which we’ve detailed above. The other big improvement concerns memory: a 64-bit chip can address more than 4GB of RAM, which 32-bit chips just can’t manage. It’s not an issue now, as no iPhone or iPad has more than 1GB of RAM, but it could be a few years down the line.

The added power of 64-bit will improve iPhone 5S performance in a number of areas. The encryption used by the phone’s fingerprint sensor will be satisfactorily fast, and the camera’s new features will also work smoothly with the chip’s improved computational ability.

These high-end applications – as well as photo and video editing and encoding, for instance – are faster with 64-bit. Games, too, benefit – at the iPhone 5S launch Apple demonstrated Infinity Blade 3, which likely wouldn’t be possible on 32-bit.

Apple’s iOS 7 has been re-engineered to work with 64-bit, and that means the OS will feel butter-smooth. But, given the simplicity of many smartphone apps, it’s a fact that many just don’t need the added power of 64-bit right now.

Most developers won’t have advance access to Apple hardware, so it’ll take time for 64-bit apps to arrive.

Thankfully, the new processor is backwards-compatible with 32-bit software.

Future Apple processors, whether in iPhones or iPads, could have enough power to run console-quality games and PC-quality apps. The shared architecture could even make it easier to port software to iOS devices.

One of the key benefits right now is marketing – Apple’s the first firm to us a 64-bit smartphone processor, and that brings plenty of kudos, even if the real benefits won’t arrive for a little while yet.

What are the long-term implications?

Despite the immediate performance boost, the move to 64-bit is more important in the long-term.

In a year or two, Apple’s phones and tablets – and every competitor – should have 4GB of RAM alongside a 64-bit processor, and Cupertino’s software teams and third-party developers will have had more time to get the most out of this new architecture – an important head-start over Samsung and Google.

That expertise will have big implications: the iPhone may use more efficient chips with better battery life. The iPad could become even more powerful. Apple may have ARM processors with enough grunt to power laptops.

It ties in to Cupertino’s long-term vision for “platform convergence”

– a strategy that may see phones, tablets, laptops and other devices share hardware and software.

The Apple A7 chip means the iPhone and iPad now share the same 64-bit system as Intel, and iOS and OS X already share the same kernel and developer environment. Apple claims the A7 is a “desktop-class” chip, so it’s no stretch to imagine more powerful parts inside laptops.

Apple has also taken charge of graphics: previous iPhones and iPads have had PowerVR GPUs, but this time it’s described as Apple’s own chip.

It’s not just hardware. Its OS X desktop system borrows features from iOS in every new version now and if Apple can use ARM-based 64-bit hardware across more devices, a universal store and unified software could follow.

What about demanding tasks that need Intel power? That’s where the cloud could take over. It’s a long way off, but Apple has already worked on hugely upgraded cloud facilities: in 2010 it built a data centre in North Carolina for iCloud, and reports indicate the facility only opened with 20,000 servers – despite that location having room for about one million servers.

While its data centres use Intel Xeon hardware, it should be noted that ARM-based servers already compete with Intel in some benchmarks, and AMD has ARM-based 64-bit server chips on its roadmap.

The bottom line

Apple’s move to 64-bit will make the iPhone 5S more powerful, but an obvious impact won’t be felt until developers begin to release apps that make use of the new A7 chip.

The 64-bit ARM chip and its successors will ensure that the next iPhones and iPads are barnstormers, and they could help console-quality games and PC-quality applications become more prevalent on these devices.

It’s bigger for Apple’s long-term future, though: a 64-bit processor signifies another step in the convergence strategy that could see iPhones, iPads, laptop and even desktops sharing hardware, operating system and software.

Apple is the first smartphone firm to make the jump to 64-bit but, now, everyone else will follow suit – and that’s only good news for consumers. It might look like overkill, but Apple’s move to mobile 64-bit is a crucial step for proper progress – and could point towards an ARM-based future.

Mike Jennings is a freelance tech writer. He spent five years as senior staff writer at PC Pro, and now writes about components, PCs, smartphones, tablets and laptops. He tweets from @mikejennings.

Next, read our iPhone 5S vs Galaxy S4 comparison

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