Bitcode (iOS, watchOS)

Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by unsigner on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @05:11AM (#9684739)

They seem to be preparing for something in the 2-5 years timeframe, but what?

Least grandiose theory I can come with: two ARM cores in the Watch, one big, one small, with different instruction sets, for active/standby modes.

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Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by jkestner on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @10:15AM (#9686005)

They're preparing for anything. Apple has a dislike for relying heavily on any partner in their DNA, thanks to PowerPC.

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Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by glhaynes on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @10:44AM (#9686191)

I think this is exactly it. Perhaps they do have a specific usage in mind that they're aiming for, but I bet they'd be taking these same steps regardless.

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Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by TazeTSchnitzel on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @10:47AM (#9686212)

Not just that. Apple also switched from 68k to PowerPC.

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Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by jkestner on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @11:20AM (#9686435)

True, though nominally the same partner. Motorola was the M in AIM, though yes, IBM did the heavy lifting. (Remember Motorola made a Mac clone? How weird.) And the situation wasn't as dire then.

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Re:Bitcode (iOS, watchOS) by robmcm on Tuesday June 09, 2015 @06:45AM (#9685028)

I'm guessing they can just optimize for the watch when they come up with a new trick.

It also means they can optimize for different devices.

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