iPhone 8 Plus Professional Disassembly Report X-ray In-depth IC Details

　　Many people like to watch iFixit's disassembly, but iFixit mainly focuses on the difficulty of disassembly and restoration. There is another organization in the industry that pays more attention to technical disassembly, that is Tech**ights. After joining forces with Chipworks, the organization has conducted technical analysis and in-depth research on electronic products, especially integrated circuits, and has few competitors in the same field. Recently, Tech**ights released a new disassembly analysis of Apple's new iPhone 8 Plus. Let's see what highlights it has found that are worth paying attention to.

　　It should be noted that this article is not a complete version, and the in-depth technical analysis has been updated every few days. Click here for details. Tech**ights disassembled the Intel baseband version of the iPhone 8 Plus A1897.

AP (Application Processor)

　　The iPhone 8 Plus A1897 model is confirmed to be equipped with the A11 Bionic AP, marked as TMHS09. The chip uses a stacked package (PoP) method and is equipped with LPDDR4 SDRAM running memory from Micron, model MT53D384M64D4NY, with a capacity of 3GB. The actual measurement results show that the size of the A11 chip is 89.23 square millimeters, which is 30% smaller than the A10.

　　The most significant feature of the A11 Bionic chip is the built-in dedicated "Neural Engine", which is now capable of many tasks, including smarter recognition of people, places and objects, providing powerful performance for innovative features such as "Face ID" and "Animoji", and improving Siri and AR applications. This is the result of Apple's layout over the years, during which Apple acquired a number of AI startups and absorbed a large number of talents in related fields.

　　Tech**ights and Chipworks said that the A11's NPU is not currently used as fully on the iPhone 8 Plus as it is on the iPhone X, so more in-depth understanding will have to wait for the iPhone X to be analyzed.

Some details of the A11 Bionic chip are as follows:

　　- The area of ​​A11 is 30% smaller than that of A10;

　　- Internal reductions: CPU 1 is 30% smaller, GPU is 40% smaller, and SDRAM is 40% smaller;

　　- In terms of CPU2, A11 has more cores than A10 (now 4 small cores, previously only 2);

　　- Relatively speaking, the internal area is similar: CPU occupies 15%, GPU occupies 20%, SDRAM occupies 8%;

　　- GPU is still the same 6** design with common logic

　　- The layout of each module is similar to A10

　　- The biggest difference compared to A10 is the built-in NPU unit.

　　Logic board layout

Camera Module

　　Apple has officially introduced that the ISP image signal processor in the A11 Bionic chip has been redesigned and improved (a perfect complement to the ISP models with stacked chip image sensors), thus bringing more advanced pixel processing capabilities (especially in terms of sharpness and texture), as well as multi-band noise reduction technology, faster autofocus in low-light environments, and the ability to generate better HDR photos, while adding portrait lighting effects on the basis of supporting portrait mode.

　　As for the image sensor, Apple also pointed out that the iPhone 8 Plus still uses the same sensor as the iPhone 7, that is, a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens that can bring the scene closer, and also supports high-quality zoom and portrait mode. The difference is that Apple claims to have optimized and adjusted the dual-lens camera of the iPhone 8 Plus, with a larger and faster photosensitive element than before, as well as a new color filter and deeper pixels.

　　The resolution of the FaceTime front camera also remains unchanged at 7 megapixels. However, it should be noted that you should no longer hear the word "iSight", and the iSight sub-brand has been removed from Apple's iPhone product specifications page.

　　Tech**ights speculates that the ISP unit of the iPhone 8 Plus should now be manufactured using TSMC's 28nm process. Since Apple used Sony's Exmor RS image sensor in 2013 (iPhone 5s), the ISP unit for iPhone camera modules has only used 65nm or 40nm process technology. On the contrary, Sony's own IMX318 sensor's ISP has already used TSMC's 28nm process, but Apple iPhone did not follow suit, so it is not surprising that it followed suit this time.

　　However, Tech**ights also mentioned another possibility that the ISP unit of the camera module may be built using FD-SOI process technology. After all, an authoritative industry article on January 1, 2016 pointed out that Sony was exploring new process technologies for the camera ISP at the time, especially the late-blooming "FD-SOI" process. Details about this part have not yet come out, but Tech**ights' laboratory has been deeply cross-testing the new ISP chip, waiting for updates, and the veil will soon be lifted.

　　In previous DxOMark reviews, the video recording of the iPhone 8 Plus was praised as one of the best performances among smartphones. According to the disassembly details, the A11 is equipped with an Apple-designed video encoder unit, which adds support for 4K @ 60fps and 1080p @ 240fps recording, and optimizes video stabilization performance. In addition, Apple also introduced that the dual-lens camera of the iPhone 8 Plus has undergone a lot of customization and adjustments for AR, ensuring that it can present a more eye-opening augmented reality experience. More specifically, each lens has been calibrated separately, and with the cooperation of the new gyroscope and accelerometer, it can perform precise motion tracking, and the A11 bionic chip can assist in global tracking and scene recognition, while the ISP is responsible for real-time light prediction.

　　Tech**ights and Chipworks conducted a deeper technical analysis of the camera module and obtained some practical results:

　　- Dual rear cameras

　　The dual-camera module measures 21.0 mm x 10.6 mm x 6.3 mm. According to initial X-rays, the wide-angle lens is equipped with optical image stabilization (OIS), while the telephoto lens is the same configuration as the iPhone 7 Plus.

　　The wide-angle sensor uses Sony CIS, and the sensor size is 6.29 mm x 5.21 mm (32.8 square millimeters). In comparison, the wide-angle sensor size of the iPhone 7 Plus is 32.3 square millimeters. Tech**ights said that since this was a quick disassembly analysis, no pictures of the color filter were recorded, but it can basically be confirmed that the size of a single pixel is 1.22 μm. At the same time, Apple seems to have used a new Phase Pixel mode and confirmed that this is a regular back-illuminated (BSI) sensor, which is Sony's Exmor RS sensor.

　　Tech**ights also said that Apple seems to have used hybrid bonding technology for the first time, as it confirmed that the telephoto part is mixed with an Exmor RS sensor with a single pixel size of 1.0 μm. The sensor size is 6.29 mm x 5.21 mm (32.8 square millimeters).

- Front camera

　　The 7-megapixel front camera module measures 6.8 mm x 5.8 mm x 4.4 mm

　　The sensor is still Sony's Sony CIS, with a size of 3.73 mm x 5.05 mm (18.8 square millimeters) and a single pixel size of 1.0 μm, both of which are consistent with the front camera of the iPhone 7 Plus. Tech**ights said it did not have a deep understanding of Sony's Exmor RS sensor.

Baseband

　　The iPhone 8 Plus A1897 model is confirmed to be based on Intel's modem solution. During the disassembly process, we saw Intel's new generation baseband module (modem): PMB9948. A closer look revealed that it has the X2748 B11 logo, so it can be confirmed that this is Intel's XMM7480 modem, which is Intel's fourth-generation LTE modem.

　　The size of the XMM7480 (PMB9948) modem is 7.70mm x 9.15mm (70.45 square millimeters), which is larger than the 7.71mm x 8.47mm of the previous generation XMM7360 (PMB9943). Tech**ights said it will continue to delve deeper and wait for updates to see whether the foundry is TSMC or Intel itself.

RF Transceiver

　　The transceiver is Intel Trx's latest PMB5757. Tech**ights said that the lab did not take more in-depth images, and more details have to wait for updates. However, the RF front end looks very much like the iPhone 7 series, the envelope tracking model is Qorvo 81004, the high-frequency PAMiD module is Broadcom 8066LC005, the high-frequency PAMiD is Broadcom 8056LE003, and the low-frequency PAMiD is Qorvo 76041.

Power Management IC

　　The power management IC model is Intel PMB6848 (also known as X-PMU 748), and it also has Apple 338S00309, 338S00248 logos on it.

　　flash memory

　　The iPhone 8 Plus A1897 model that has been disassembled is equipped with 256GB NAND flash memory from SK Hynix, with the code h23q2t8qk6mesbc. The initial guess is that it is SK Hynix's 48-layer 3D NAND flash memory, which is exciting. We are waiting for updates on the details.

　　NFC Controller

　　In the iPhone 8 Plus, Tech**ights found an NXP NFC module from NXP. The chip has the words "80V18" on it, which is different from the "PN67V" previously found in the iPhone 7 Plus. At the same time, the controller model that Tech**ights lab dug out through X-rays is 7PN552V0C.

　　Tech**ights said that from the perspective of the plane layout, the NFC controller of the iPhone 8 Plus is almost the same as the PN80T NFC controller in the Samsung Galaxy S8 series of mobile phones. On the surface, there is no difference between them, and further analysis is needed. The secure element of the iPhone 8 Plus NFC controller is also very similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S8 series of mobile phones, and the details also need to wait for an update.

　　Tech**ights previously conducted an in-depth analysis of the X-ray photos of the PN80T NFC controller and security element of the Samsung Galaxy S8 series. According to the report, the PN80T NFC controller uses 180 nanometers**, and the security element is 40 nanometers eFlash.

　　Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module

　　The iPhone 8 Plus uses USI's 339S00397 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, and we need to disassemble it to find out what is inside. Tech**ights believes that Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus support Bluetooth 5.0, so the wireless combination chip in this USI module is very likely to be Broadcom's BCM4361 component, because in the previous in-depth analysis of the Samsung Galaxy S8, the Broadcom BCM4361 was used.

　　In addition to the Broadcom BCM4361, Tech**ights also analyzed other Bluetooth 5.0 chips, including IC components such as the CC2640R2F from Texas Instruments, the WCN3990 from Qualcomm, and the DA14586 from Dialog.

　　Audio IC

　　Tech**ights' disassembly showed three audio amplifiers coded as 338S00295.

　　Lightning connector

　　The iPhone 8 Plus uses Cypress EZ-PD's CCG2 USB Type-C port controller, with the part identification code CYPD2104. This chip brings the fast charging experience of USB Power Delivery (USB PD) transmission standard to the iPhone. The official Apple compatible accessory is the Apple USB-C Power Adapter (29W Model A1540), which was used in the iPad Pro 10.5 released in June 2017.

　　ToF Sensor

　　Last year, Apple used the front module (ToF chip + VCSEL) in iPhone 7/7 Plus. Tech**ights said that the same chip was used in iPhone 8 Plus again this time, which comes from STMicroelectronics and has a package size of 2.75 mm x 2.35 mm x 1.15 mm. The sensor numbered S2L012AC has a size of 1.17 mm x 1.97 mm.

Cost accounting

　　Finally, after analyzing the 256GB version of the iPhone 8 Plus A1897 model, Tech**ights confirmed that the cost of this machine with Intel baseband is estimated to be $367.5. In January 2017, Tech**ights also professionally disassembled the iPhone 7 Plus. Compared with models with the same memory flash size and Intel LTE, this number is indeed $33 more expensive.

　　However, Tech**ights also mentioned:

　　- The increased costs ($26.50) are primarily due to higher market prices for DRAM memory and flash memory components, which have indeed increased significantly since January.

　　- A11 costs $4.5 more than A10

　　- Camera module improvements worth $3.5

　　- Costs dropped by $2 by reusing the same display as the iPhone 7.

　　- Costs rose slightly in other hardware categories, including Intel's new LTE baseband and other items.