iPhone 5 to Feature BCM4334 Chip That Enhances Battery Life

By Vincent Funaro, Christian Post Reporter Monday, June 04, 2012

Apple's next-generation iPhone will feature a new Broadcom BCM4334 chip that will enhance the battery life of the device, according to a recent report from AnandTech.

The BCM4334 is the follow-up component to the BCM4330 that was featured in other Apple devices including the new iPad and iPhone 4S.

The new chip is built on a more efficient 40nm process while the BCM4330 had a 65nm process.

This sounds a little complicated, but to put it in more simple terms, the lowering of the nm causes power profile reduction, meaning better battery life.

Broadcom claims to have worked on and refined the existing BCM4330 design and reduced power a further 40-50 percent and dramatically reduced standby power by 3 orders of magnitude.

In full Rx mode, the BCM4330 consumes around 68mA while the BCM4334 consumes 36mA at the same voltage, according to an example of reduction given by Broadcom.

These chips are normally used to power the Wi-Fi capabilities of smartphones and tablets, and with the reduction included in the BCM4334, the new iPhone should save power for users on Wi-Fi. The chip will also help Apple to create a thinner battery for the device.

It should also add some power savings to offset the bigger screen and LTE radio rumored for the new iPhone.

This chip also features dual-band Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct.

"The combo device also features advanced switching techniques that enable concurrent dual-band operation to simultaneously support network connectivity with one band while also allowing content streaming via technologies such as Wi-Fi display and Wi-Fi direct," said Broadcom to 9to5Mac.

However, Apple is likely not to take advantage of Wi-Fi Display since it normally employs is own AirPlay protocol.

The next-generation iPhone is expected to launch during the fall of this year.