New Rumor on iPhone 16 Chips
A new rumor suggests that the iPhone 16 lineup will all feature the same A18 chip, moving away from the recent trend of having different processors for Pro and non-Pro models. On Monday, a report indicated that the A18 chip would be used across all iPhone 16 models, signaling a major change in Apple’s chip strategy.
Identifiers
Discovered by Nicolas Alvarez and reported by MacRumors on Tuesday, back-end code has identified four devices in the upcoming iPhone roster. However, five identifiers were found in the code. The identifiers range from iPhone17,1 to iPhone17,5, suggesting the fifth identifier might be for a different device, possibly a future iPhone SE update.
Chip Linking
Apple typically links identifiers to the chip rather than the iPhone generation. For example, the iPhone 15 and Plus, using the A16 Bionic, have identifiers iPhone15,4 and iPhone15,5. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, using the A17 Bionic, have identifiers iPhone16,1 and iPhone16,2. If all iPhone 16 models use the same series of identifiers, it implies they will all use the A18 chip.
Two Chip Possibilities
With all models potentially using the same chip generation, Apple might still differentiate performance between Pro and non-Pro models. This could involve disabling or binning GPU cores for the non-Pro devices.
Another possibility mentioned in Monday’s report is a modification of the hand-me-down chip strategy. The A17 design could be put through a new process at TSMC and renamed the A18, while a new A18 Pro with enhanced graphics and AI capabilities could be reserved for the Pro models.