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Why a Helium Leak Disabled Every iPhone in a Medical Facility (www.vice.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

...Yet both Android and Apple phones use MEMS silicon for their devices, so why were only Apple phones affected? The answer, it seems, is because Apple recently defected from traditional quartz-based clocks in its phones in favor of clocks that are also made of MEMS silicon.

So, they ask the question of why iPhones are the only ones affected if androids also went to MEMS, then answer it by saying that apple went to MEMS. Are they saying that the clocks in Androids still use quartz, but iPhones use MEMS clocks, even though they both use general MEMS silicon?

Edit, autocorrect

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Are they saying that the clocks in Androids still use quartz, but iPhones use MEMS clocks, even though they both use general MEMS silicon?

Correct. MEMS technology is used in the accelerometers and gyros in the inertial measurement units (IMUs) that are in pretty much every smartphone. Apple decided to switch to using MEMS clocks, probably because it means that they can reduce part count slightly as it would mean that they can incorporate them on the same chip as the CPU or the like.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Gotcha. Ok. This article makes a whole lot more sense now. Thank you!!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

You're very welcome!