There's been plenty of speculation as to exactly what the constituent parts of the A4 chip powering Apple's iPad will be.

We know it's ARM-based - what isn't? - but the latest rumours suggest that it's both less and more powerful than we originally thought (if that makes sense).

The less power bit comes as instead of the expected Cortex-A9 part, it's instead said to have an optimised and stripped down single core Cortex-A8 CPU (for battery life); at least that's what Ars Technica reckons.

The more power bit comes as instead of the expected Mali GPU, it's suggested that the A4 uses a version of the Imagination Technologies' PowerVR SGX silicon, as used in the iPhone 3GS.

Common knowledge

This would make complete sense, both in terms of providing backwards compatibility, as well as the potential grunt to power that big 9.7-inch screen; both elements that game developers have expressed concern about.

It's also striking that the chaps from Imagination Technologies (in which Apple is a minority shareholder), while tight lipped at Mobile World Congress, certainly didn't seem down in the mouth. And the company is certainly chipper as it prepares for the Game Developers Conference.

Maybe it knows something we don't yet.

[source: ars technica]