The iOS 5.1 beta suggests Apple is on track for quad core

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

The giants of the mobile device market are racing in the direction of quad-core processor support. Reports indicate that Apple could have terminated a big shot. The iOS 5.1 beta has the earmarks of quad-core support, reports Engadget. Source of article: The iOS 5.1 beta suggests Apple is on track for quad core

Brand new reference for iOS 5.1

As reported by 9to5Mac, there are two images that suggest iOS 5.1 will support over just the same, old dual-core devices. The images relate to the processing core of whatever system runs the updated OS. As opposed to being named “/cores/core.1” as an OS optimized for dual-core processors would be, the iOS 5.1 beta references “/cores/core.3” as a marker for quad-core capability.

This likely movement toward quad-core processors is far from a surprise, notes TechCrunch. The whole smartphone and tablet industry is racing toward that level of processing power. Asus recently launched the Transformer Prime tablet, although there have reportedly been technical hiccups for some users. The tablet’s NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset benchmarked quite high, although it evidently only performs marginally better than the iPad 2’s A5 dual-core.

Technology too advanced for applications

Benchmarks alone will not be enough to usher in the quad-core age for cellular devices. Most existing applications currently cannot take advantage of a quad-core processor, so it might be a while before the quad-core revolution begins in smartphones and other mobile devices. As such, industry experts are quick to point out that any noticeable boost in system and app performance will be relatively little. TechCrunch calls it a “mixed bag,” as Apple might very well tune its first party apps to work well with a quad-core, but third-party apps will likely play the role of onlooker until such time as quad-core is more universally adopted.

Getting a poor response from Mr. AJ’s Tech

Sources

Engadget

Phonedog

TechCrunch