iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will switch from A16 to A18 chip

According to analyst Jeff Pu, who studies Apple and its supply chain, all four iPhone 16 models will be equipped with A18 branded chips. He first shared that prediction last month and revisited the topic this week in a research note he wrote with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities.

In his final note, Pu said, “we expect all iPhone 16 models to be equipped with A18” and said that he expects the chips to be produced using chip manufacturer TSMC’s second-generation N3E 3nm process. Pu called the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models a “transitional design” based on TSMC’s first-generation 3nm “N3B” process.

In response to an email from MacRumors Last month, Pu outlined his specific expectations:

• iPhone 16: chip A18 (N3E)
• iPhone 16 Plus: chip A18 (N3E)
• iPhone 16 Pro: chip A18 Pro (N3E)
• iPhone 16 Pro Maximum: chip A18 Pro (N3E)

According to TSMC, N3E is cheaper and has better output compared to N3B.

The standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus use the A16 Bionic chip; So the switch to the A18 chip for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be a noticeable and unique change as it means the two models will skip the A17 branding. chip

With the iPhone 16 series about 11 months away, Pu is likely making an educated guess about marketing names, so time will tell if Apple will actually move forward with the A18 and A18 Pro branding. It is possible for Apple to brand the iPhone 16 chips as A17 and A18 Pro to reflect recent years.

Pu was the first source to report that Apple has abandoned plans for solid-state buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models. He also confirmed that the iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with increased 8 GB RAM and that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a higher starting price than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.