Rumor: Apple gives iPhone’s Matrix co-processor for computer vision
Bloomberg has posted a list of details about upcoming Apple products online. According to the site, the upcoming iPhones will receive a new type of co-processor that should relieve the A13 in calculations for, among other things, augmented reality and computer vision.
The co-processor for the new A13-soc would be known internally under the names Matrix and AMX. The co-processor is intended to take over complex calculations that the A13 does not have to handle, which may have a positive influence on the battery life. According to Bloomberg, this involves calculations in the field of machine vision and augmented reality, which Apple would bet highly on. Many other SOCs now also have separate computing cores for such tasks. Huawei, Samsung and Qualcomm, among others, have been using co-processors for some time to help with tasks such as image recognition. In computer vision, systems use their camera to gain insight into their environment for, among other things, object recognition, tracking and positioning of animations on the camera image.
Many of the other details Bloomberg publishes appeared in previous posts. Apple would introduce three new iPhones on September 10, including two Pro models that follow the XS and XS Max. The smartphones will have a similar design to the current generation but with better cameras. The Pro models get a third camera sensor and more options for video recording, the successor to the XR gets a second camera for ‘optical zoom’.
In addition, they can charge in reverse: for example, they can wirelessly charge the AirPods headset in their storage case. They are also said to be more resistant to immersion in water and Apple is making improvements to Face ID including a larger field of view.
The iPad Pros with 11″ and 12.9″ screens also get more powerful processors and improved cameras, but no external changes. A new iPad, probably the cheapest tablet in Apple’s range, will have a 10.2″ instead of a 9.7″ screen.
The Apple Watch will receive a modest update this year with changes to the case that include references to ceramic and titanium models. Apple is said to be working on more expensive AirPods that are waterproof and have noise cancellation support. Furthermore, a cheaper HomePod speaker with two instead of seven speakers would appear. Finally, Bloomberg mentions the larger MacBook Pro that appears in a housing the size of a 15.6 “laptop, but which, thanks to narrower screen bezels, contains a screen larger than 16 inches diagonally.
Apple may hold an event on September 10 where at least the iPhones are expected to be announced. The rumors were put together at Bloomberg by Mark Gurman, a journalist who has proven to have good sources within Apple.