MacRumors

Close on the heels of its iPad mini teardown, iFixit has performed a similar procedure on the fourth-generation iPad. The new iPad is extremely similar to the previous model, with the main exceptions being the move to a more powerful A6X chip and a change to Apple's new Lightning connector.

Of most significant interest is of course the A6X chip, which would be an enhanced version of the A6 chip that debuted in the iPhone 5, with improved graphics to help drive the iPad's large Retina display. A date code on the A6X reveals that it was manufactured in the 37th week of 2012, which corresponds to mid-September, but a more detailed analysis of the A6X will need to wait for chip teardown experts such as those at Chipworks to get their hands on the part.

Other interesting discoveries include:

- The display is manufactured by LG, as opposed to the Samsung display found in the third-generation iPad torn down by iFixit. Apple does, however, source many of its components from multiple vendors, so it is unclear whether Apple has excluded Samsung from display production on the fourth-generation iPad.

- The logic board remains the same size as in the previous model, but Apple has tweaked the layout of some of the chips.

- The new Lightning port is housed in a frame that is equal in size to that of the 30-pin dock connector in the previous generation, meaning that Apple has not saved any interior space with the move to the Lightning connector. Apple will, however, almost certainly take advantage of the reduction in space needed for the Lightning connector in a more significant redesign for a future generation.

- The improved front-facing camera is slightly thicker than in the previous model, but fits into the same space within the device's body.

- The battery carries the same A1389 part number as in the third-generation iPad.

- Just like in the third-generation iPad, the fourth-generation model contains 1 GB of RAM housed in two Elpida chips separate from the A6X package.

Update: Chipworks has examined the A6X, finding that it is indeed a significant reworking of the A6 found in the iPhone 5, unsurprisingly focused on graphics capabilities.

This is not just an A6 with a couple minor tweaks. The A6 is 94mm2 while the A6X is 123mm2 – a full 30% larger.So where did that extra area go? Well, firstly, it did not go to the CPU core. The A6X uses the identical CPU to the A6. Same size, same layout. This is not surprising given that the prior CPU used custom layout techniques, and therefore it would be a huge amount of work to redesign so soon. Much of the extra area has gone to the GPU cores which are up from 3 to 4. More notable is that each of these GPU cores is much larger.On the A6X each GPU core is 8.7mm2 while the A6 GPU cores are only 5.4mm2. The overall area occupied by the A6X GPU cores is more than double that of the A6!

While a number of customers have been able to get their hands on the iPad mini prematurely either through early deliveries or retailers who began selling the devices before the appointed time, sales have now officially started in New Zealand where it is now the morning of November 2.

Twitter user @jgriffinz notes that he was one of the first customers to officially purchase the iPad mini in New Zealand, and notes that he was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about the distinction. He has also confirmed that his iPad mini arrived with the New Zealand version of the 5-watt power adapter rather than the higher-powered 12-watt adapter that is arriving with the full-size iPad.

AMA Creative also shared a few photos with MacRumors showing the iPad mini going on sale at New Zealand retailer YOOBEE.

Apple's own stores are opening at 8:00 AM local time on Friday to begin sales of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad. A number of third-party retailers will also be carrying the devices, and their opening times and stock levels may vary.

While iFixit was busy tearing down the iPad mini earlier today, Chipworks was taking a closer look at the chips included in the device. The item of most interest is of course the A5 system-on-a-chip, and Chipworks has unsurprisingly confirmed that the iPad mini uses a chip manufactured by Samsung on a 32-nanometer process.

The A5 originally appeared based on a 45-nanometer process, but Apple quietly shifted to a smaller and more efficient 32-nanometer process earlier this year with the launch of the revised iPad 2 and the third-generation Apple TV back in April. The same chip made its way into the fifth-generation iPod touch last month, so it should not be a surprise that the A5 used in the iPad mini is the same part.

Remember the past, when Apple launched the Apple A5X to great fanfare? When the A5X launched, Apple also snuck in a change to the process generation in their A5 chip by putting a new 32 nm version inside the iPad2 and Apple TV3. Apple (likely) plays it this way because they don’t want people evaluating their products based on “commodity” technical specifications, but based on the overall experience with the device.

Because of this past behavior, there has been some speculation on the web as to whether they would do the same thing with the latest generation of Apple A5 processor. A new process for a new product. Maybe even a new foundry partner?

The answer is no.

Cross-sections of the A5 chip from the iPad mini appear identical to those from other recent A5 chips, indicating that Samsung is indeed still the supplier for the main chip used in Apple's iOS devices. Apple's has been rumored to be trying to move chip production to TSMC, but the process has been a slow one as Apple seeks to strike a deal and ensure that technical considerations will not hinder the shift.

Apple today released the first beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The beta has a build number of 10B5095f, versus 10A523 (10A525 for the iPhone 5) for the just-released iOS 6.0.1.

Apple mentions a number of changes and known issues, including several related to how developers can integrate Apple's new mapping service in their apps, as well as an improvement to how boarding passes are handled in Passbook, and a few minor changes to Safari.

Registered developers can download the beta via Apple's Developer page.

Since the announcement of the iPad mini last week, there has been some discussion about whether Apple would include the smaller 5-watt power adapter typically bundled with iPhone models or the larger 12-watt adapter intended for the latest full-size iPad models.

One report from just after Apple's media event indicated that Apple would be shipping the larger 12-watt adapter with the iPad mini, but iPhoneinCanada.ca noticed soon after that the Apple Store iOS app was showing a photo of the smaller 5-watt adapter as part of the iPad mini package contents.

One MacRumors reader was able to purchase an iPad mini from his local Walmart yesterday and confirmed that it does indeed ship with the smaller 5-watt adapter.

The 12-watt charger (or its 10-watt predecessor) could charge the iPad mini more quickly than the 5-watt adapter, provided that the iPad mini itself would allow more than 5 watts to be drawn from the charger. Any of the adapters can be used with any iOS device, but both the adapter and the devices themselves specify how much power can be drawn. For example, an iPhone will only draw 5 watts regardless of which adapter it is plugged into, while an iPad will draw the full wattage on any of the adapters, with the lower-wattage adapters obviously charging the device more slowly than higher-wattage ones.

With the iPad mini's battery having three times the capacity of the iPhone 5's battery, charging the iPad mini through the included 5-watt power adapter would take considerably longer than charging an iPhone. If, however, the iPad mini is capable of drawing higher wattage, users may prefer to charge the device through a larger 10-watt or 12-watt adapter intended for the full-size iPad.

One day before the launch of the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, Apple has just released iOS 6.0.1. The update had been reported to be in carrier testing two weeks ago.

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

- Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
- Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
- Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
- Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
- Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
- Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
- Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
- Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings

iPhone 5 users updating from their devices are required to first install an "updater" application to fix a bug that would otherwise prevent over-the-air updates. Once the updater has been applied users can download iOS 6.0.1 from their devices.

AllThingsD offers a look at the back-and-forth situation with Apple executive Bob Mansfield, who announced his retirement as hardware chief in late June only to rescind the move two months later in order to work on special projects under CEO Tim Cook. With this week's management changes, Mansfield is now heading up a new "Technologies" division and has committed to remaining at the company for at least two more years.

AllThingsD notes that Mansfield was indeed serious about retiring earlier this year and was enticed to stay on in an advisory capacity to ease the transition. But his all-in commitment to head the new Technologies division was reportedly influenced in no small part by the impending departure of iOS chief Scott Forstall.

As one source close to the company told AllThingsD, “The timing of Bob’s return is not coincidental.”

To begin, Mansfield was not a fan of Forstall’s confrontational management style, and sources said he generally tried to avoid the iOS exec. Indeed, Bloomberg last year reported that Mansfield would meet with Forstall only if Cook was present to mediate. I’ve heard many similar stories.

“It wasn’t a him-or-me situation,” one source said of Mansfield’s return and Forstall’s ouster. “But, put it this way, I think Bob was much more willing to commit to two more years once he knew Scott was on his way out.”

Mansfield is just one of several senior Apple executives taking on new roles in the restructuring, with design guru Jony Ive adding software design to his existing hardware design responsibilities, Eddy Cue picking up Siri and Maps, and Craig Federighi adding iOS to his OS X responsibilities.

iFixit is currently working on a teardown of the iPad mini, revealing the internal components of the device for the first time.

One interesting development is the discovery of a Samsung display driver chip. It is unclear, however, whether this means that Samsung is also responsible for the display itself, as the codes found on the back of the display do not provide immediate evidence of its manufacturer. Display production had been reported to be split between AU Optronics and LG, with Samsung being left out on the iPad mini.

The teardown has also reached the logic board, revealing the A5 chip powering the device. The A5 chip found in iFixit's model carries date codes indicating that the package was put together in the 31st week of 2012, which would correspond to the end of July or the beginning of August.

iFixit has also confirmed that the iPad mini contains stereo speakers, although the relatively small spacing between the two speakers means that the benefit of stereo sound will be marginal under most scenarios.

iFixit's teardown is still underway, and we will update this post with any additional observations of interest that may surface.

Last week, Apple posted a statement on its UK website acknowledging that Samsung had not infringed upon the protected design of the iPad, in line with a court order following the trial. But Apple took the opportunity to playfully quote statements from the judge's ruling saying that the Samsung Galaxy Tab was "not as cool" as the iPad and note that it had won cases against Samsung in other jurisdictions.

Bloomberg now reports, however, that Apple's version of the statement is not in line with the intent of the order, which was to present a simple reference to the court decision ruling against Apple. The court has requested that Apple alter its website statement within two days, but Apple claims that alterations could take up to two weeks.

“I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Judge Robin Jacob said today. “That is a plain breach of the order.” [...]

The court’s initial order to post a notice was designed to correct the impression that the South Korean company was copying Apple’s product. Apple’s post, criticized by judges today, inserted four paragraphs including excerpts of the original “cool” ruling and details of similar German lawsuits that the court today said weren’t true.

The original court ruling required that Apple keep the acknowledgement linked on its website for one month and to purchase advertisements in a number of newspapers and magazines to publicly make the same admission. Those advertisements have, however, yet to appear.

Apple has launched a new page on its iTunes Store allowing users to easily donate money to the American Red Cross toward Superstorm Sandy relief efforts. The donation page, which is accessible through the desktop iTunes Store as well as the iTunes and App Store apps on iOS, permits donations at the $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, and $200 levels.

Apple will transfer 100% of each donation directly to the American Red Cross, allowing users to have their donations seamlessly billed to their existing iTunes Store accounts. With Apple currently holding over 400 million iTunes Store accounts with credit cards attached, the company has a very significant customer base that can take advantage of the donation program.

Apple has conducted several similar campaigns in the past, most recently in March 2011 following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and in January 2010 following the Haitian earthquakes.

Update: Apple has now added a link to the iTunes Store donation page on the main apple.com page.

Apple today filed its 2012 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the document reveals a few interesting tidbits of information:

- Apple now has 72,800 "full-time equivalent" employees, up from 60,400 last year. The company also went from employing 2,900 "full-time equivalent" temporary employees and contractors to 3,300. 42,400 "full-time equivalent" employees are in the retail division, up from 36,000 last year.

- Apple went from 357 stores at the end of fiscal 2011 to 390 stores at the end of fiscal 2012, up 33 from the year prior. Apple earned an average of $51.5 million per store, up from $43.3 million last year. The average number of "full-time equivalent" employees per store grew from 100.8 to 108.7. Apple expects to open 30-35 new stores in 2013, with 75% of those located outside the US.

The Company’s headquarters are located in Cupertino, California. As of September 29, 2012, the Company owned or leased approximately 17.3 million square feet of building space, primarily in the U.S., and to a lesser extent, in Europe, Japan, Canada, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Of that amount approximately 10.9 million square feet was leased building space, which includes approximately 4.1 million square feet related to retail store space. Of the Company’s owned building space, approximately 2.6 million square feet that is located in Cupertino, California will be demolished to build a second corporate campus. Additionally, the Company owns a total of 1,077 acres of land in various locations.

As of September 29, 2012, the Company owned a manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland that also housed a customer support call center and facilities in Elk Grove, California that included warehousing and distribution operations and a customer support call center. The Company also owned land in Austin, Texas where it will build office space and a customer support call center. In addition, the Company owned facilities for research and development and corporate functions in Cupertino, California, including land for the future development of the Company’s second corporate campus. The Company also owned data centers in Newark, California; Maiden, North Carolina; and Prineville, Oregon. Outside the U.S., the Company owned additional facilities for various purposes.

- As this document is designed mainly for prospective and current investors in the company, Apple also lists a number of risk factors that could affect investments in the company. These include "[Apple] could be found to have infringed on intellectual property rights", the ability to "successfully manage frequent product introductions and transitions", "the Company’s ability to obtain components in sufficient quantities", and numerous more.

- Unlike last year, when Apple said it had no plans to pay a dividend, the company now "expects to pay quarterly dividends in the future."

The document is thick with financial information, including breakdowns of all sorts related to how the company makes money, invests its money, and pays taxes, among other things.