Source : iFixit
With iPad 3, Apple has discontinued Broadcom's BCM475x series A-GPS chipsets that powered iPads 1 and 2 and iPhones 4. From iPhone 4S and iPad 3, says New iPad (¹), it is now Qualcomm company which provides Apple devices a modem integrating all communication features, series Gobi™ Modems (²).
iPhone 5 is featured with one of the last range modems Qualcomm Gobi ™, MDM9615 4G LTE. This fifth-generation processor supports the latest communications network technologies : TD-SCDMA, TD-LTE, LTE FDD and TDD spanning the world, while being compatible with HSPA+ and EV-DO (³). In addition, this processor integrates a GPS reception chip called "gpsOneGen 8A" supporting the Russian GLONASS satellite network. Unfortunately, No further details are available about this chip (Number of Channels, sensitivity, WAAS/EGNOS receiving).
4G LTE Modem Specifications
For Apple, MDM9615 saves space and energy. But above all the support of TD-SCDMA is an easy entrance to China, where this particular standard is used by China Mobile, who controls 70% market with no less than 650 million subscribers, as an alternative to W-CDMA technology.
So we find in the iPhone 5 :
- Modem Qualcomm MDM9615 4G LTE (GPS embedded)
- Three-axis gyroscope STMicroelectronics L3G4200D (iPhone 4S, iPad 2)
- STMicroelectronics LIS331DLH Three-Axis Linear Accelerometer
All these parts combine to provide instant location and movements of device, for use in many applications, including sea and air navigation. Remains, as with the iPad 3, to check the performance of this GPS chipset, hoping that it will be at least equivalent to those of Broadcom.
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(¹) Why I'm going to keep my ipad 1
(²) Qualcomm Gobi® Modems
(³) See Network Standards Guide by MacGeneration
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