What the first 64-bit iPhone chip means for you (hint: not much right now)

Apple fans have been craving some innovation for a while and the company seemed to deliver it Tuesday with the new A7 chip in the iPhone 5S, the first 64-bit processor to appear in a smartphone.

But while the A7 sets the iPhone up for the future, the short-term gains will be minimal and users might not notice a big performance difference for some time, analysts said.

[ Also on InfoWorld: All you need to know about the new iPhone. | Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]

"With current mobile devices and mobile apps, there really is no advantage [to 64 bits] other than marketing -- the ability to say you're the first to have it," said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight64, said it's unclear how much noticeable performance improvement users will see, at least until apps that take advantage of the new chip are released.

"Apple's going to be shipping 64-bit smartphones before anyone in the Android camp. Whether that will matter is up in the air," he said.

For sure, the new chip should give better performance than its predecessors, it's just not clear how much of that improvement will come from the fact that it's 64 bits.

The move is a breakthrough of sorts for Apple. Past iPhone processors were all 32-bit, and the move to 64 bits sets the company up for the future. Among other things, 64-bit processors can address larger amounts of memory than 32-bit chips, which will help with certain types of applications.

It should allow the iPhone to be used for heavier editing work, allowing it to take fuller advantage of programs like Adobe Photoshop, for example. And the additional memory should help with video processing, potentially enabling the iPhone to play 4K video.

Apple claimed the new chip will provide twice the CPU and graphics performance of its predecessor while still delivering long battery life. It said it "engineered iOS 7 and all the built-in apps to maximize the performance of the A7 chip."

The A7 brings "64-bit desktop-class architecture to a smartphone for the first time," Apple boasted.

It didn't provide details about the chip but it's almost certainly based on an ARM design like its predecessors. ARM announced a 64-bit version of its chip design in 2011, the ARMv8, and said it would take 18 months to two years to appear in mobile devices.

64-bit chips will also help handle the higher-end hardware in smartphones, such as high-definition screens, and will allow devices to make light work of running multiple tasks concurrently.

But the initial 64-bit iPhones don't have big increases in DRAM to take advantage of the greater memory addressability, Brookwood said. "The new iPhones don't have a big DRAM upgrade, so 64-bit won't really matter," he said.

Also, most apps today are 32-bit, and they'll need to be rewritten to take advantage of the 64-bit capabilities. ARMv8 is backward compatible with its 32-bit predecessors, so existing apps should perform fine on the new devices.

Despite Apple's assurances, its effect on battery life could also be a concern. A 32-bit processor has been adequate thus far for mobile devices, and the burst in performance and memory addressability can only mean increased power consumption, Tirias Research's McGregor said.

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Tiny Celebrity Tattoos That Make Us Want to Get Inked Right This Minute!

From tiny hearts to meaningful words, see the star micro-tattoo trend that is tempting us.

By Alesandra Dubin - August 2, 2013 Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage; Sean Gallup/Getty Images for Sony Pictures

Emma Stone and her mom have matching tattoos of bird feet -- designed by Paul McCartney! -- in a show of solidarity following her mother's breast cancer treatment and recovery. Rob Kim/WireImage; Michael Caulfield/WireImage for Geffen Records

Ashlee Simpson has a cute pair of cherries on her ankle. FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images; Ray Tamarra/Getty Images; Roger Wong/INFphoto.com

A big ink fan, Rihanna's subtler tattoos include a skull and crossbones with Hello Kitty-style bow on her ankle, and words tattooed on the sides of her fingers, including the provocative "Shhh..." (which both Lindsay Lohan and Lily Allen have variations of as well). Dave M. Benett/Getty Images; Francois Durand/Getty Images

A tiny anchor tattoo on the supermodel's wrist is simple and sweet. Amy Graves/WireImage; Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Nicole Richie has expressed unfiltered regret over her tattoos, but this subtle star on her wrist seems as inoffensive as they go. David Livingston/Getty Images; David Livingston/Getty Images; Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images

Hilary Duff has an array of tattoos all over her body -- at least six at last count. She later added a bird above the "stand by me" ink pictured here. Tim Whitby/WireImage; Chelsea Lauren/WireImage

A funny detail about singer Lana Del Rey's tiny "paradise" tattoo on her hand: Adele later went on to get one almost identical to it! Paul A. Hebert/Getty Images; James Devaney/WireImage; Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Kat Von D is responsible for Miley Cyrus's crossed arrows arm tattoo. The singer also has tons more, including a simple heart on her pinky. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Demi Lovato intended the placement of her cross tattoo to show off her spirituality to fans every time she clutches the mic, according to Ryan Seacrest.  Henry S. Dziekan III/WireImage; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Lester Cohen/Getty Images for Andrea Bocelli Foundation

New mom Evan Rachel Woods' tattoos read like pages in her diary: They're testaments to relationships with past love Marilyn Manson and current husband Jamie Bell, according to Esquire. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Yes, that's a sperm tattooed on Mandy Moore. To each her own!

Alesandra Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the founder of home and travel blog Homebody in Motion. Follow her on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.

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You’re a Grown Woman! Isn’t It Time You Wear the Right Bra Size?!

Try these tips from a bona fide bra sizing expert to get your fit just right

By Alesandra Dubin - August 1, 2013

If you're like most women, you probably determined your bra size sometime around the time you learned to drive, and haven't given it much thought since. That would put you squarely among the bazillions of people wearing ill-fitting underthings who don't even know it.

But you can fix that! And there's good reason to: Nothing does more to instantly trim inches off your silhouette and subtract years from your figure than a bra in the correct size. Here's how to fit yourself for a bra at home, courtesy of Kim Caldwell of Linda's Bra Salon in New York City.

First, she says, get a soft measuring tape and figure out your bra's band size in inches by measuring directly underneath the breast tissue. "Lift them up if you have fuller breasts," Kim says. Then round up to the nearest even number — or a bit higher if you have smaller breasts. In that case, add about one to three inches to that figure to determine your band size. "That's just because your band doesn't have to be so tight that it's choking you if you have smaller breasts. If your breasts are heavier, the back band has to be snugger so it's working harder."

Then, with your bra on, wrap the measuring tape directly around the fullest part of your bust. This will be your cup size measurement. Take that measurement and subtract your band measurement. Every difference of one inch equals one cup size. So a one-inch difference means an A, two inches a B, and so on.

For instance, Kim says, "Let's say I measure 29 below my bust and I have a bust size of 35. Then I'm a 32F. If I were 40 around my under-bust and 50 around my bust, I'm a 40J."

Does that sound like a big bra? Maybe. But Kim says too many people just assume they're what they consider to be middle-of-the-road sizes like 32B or 34C, when in fact those assumptions aren't based in reality.

"It's pretty basic, but a lot of women take for granted that their bras fit. You have no idea how many women come in and say, 'I've been a 34B my entire life.' I say there's no way! That's like saying i've been a size 4 my entire life. It's impossible. We're women. Our bodies change," she says.

And the right fit might be more important than you think. "If you're in a good bra, you'll always look and always feel better. If you spend $500 on a dress and wear an ill-fitting bra underneath, it's going to look terrible. But a $40 dress will look great with a bra that fits. If you have the right bra on and your breasts are lifted, suddenly you look taller, thinner, more youthful, and you feel more confident. You feel ready to take on anything that day."

So what are you waiting for? Get out that measuring tape!

Alesandra Dubin is a Los Angeles-based writer and the founder of home and travel blog Homebody in Motion. Follow her on Twitter: @alicedubin.

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