iPhone OS 3.0 to Back Quad-Core Model, Rumor Says

A TG Daily report points out that Imagination Technologies is set to unveil the new version of its graphics chip IP, the PowerVR SGX543. The 543 is Imagination's first multi-core capable GPU platform, which Apple may be very interested in employing for a new-gen iPhone.

“While Imagination’s technology is known to be integrated in graphics products from Intel and Texas Instruments in the past, this new version is especially interesting since Apple could have access to it and may be planning a powerful graphics engine with GPGPU acceleration for one of the next iPhones,” the analysis goes. “Conceivably, the next iPhone could become a much more capable gaming platform than the Nintendo DS or PSP.”

Apple is known to have licensed Imagination’s GPU technology blueprints, but also to have poured some cash into the company's IPs as well, the report reveals.

Allegedly, the new hardware will enable the company behind the Mac OS to blow competition away, by creating iPhone applications as powerful as those only desktop computers can run today. Another reason why Apple would definitely be interested in the new 543 is that the chip isn’t about power consumption, but about performance and features, the publication adds.

Blogger Jason D. O'Grady chimes in noting that “the mysterious four-core iPhone” is one of the most interesting rumors at this year's Macworld Expo. In the report, it is noted that Apple's iPhone is comparable to Sony's PlayStation Portable at the moment, but that things will soon be different.

The blogger asserts that “An upgraded four core iPhone would slaughter pretty much every portable gaming platform on the market.” O'Grady points out that “The other part of the story is firmware 3.0.” Going by the rumor, the OS upgrade will be a must for a quad-core iPhone.

Softpedia take: Apple's iPhone has been compared to Sony's PSP numerous times, mostly because the smartphone boasts very impressive control capabilities, using both DS-like touchscreen functionality and accelerometer-based motion sensitivity, like the Wii, all encased in a portable-console-like device. However, while the iPhone uses more processing power than the PSP, it isn't a dedicated gaming device. Hardcore gamers are still into buttons, whereas the iPhone currently offers simple, pick-up-and-play, casual fun.