iPhone 15 series was launched only about seven months ago, but, the iPhone 16 series is already among the most anticipated phones of 2024. The lineup is said to include four models — iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Early reports suggest that the Cupertino-based tech giant is preparing an A18 Pro processor for the upcoming iPhone lineup with a key focus on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Apple used an older A16 chip on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models and an all-new A17 Pro chip on the Pro models.
As reported by 9to5Mac, Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research revealed details about the A18 Pro processor in his research note. According to the analyst, Apple is planning changes to the A18 Pro chip for on-device artificial intelligence. The company is ramping up chip production earlier than usual.
“According to our supply chain checks, we are seeing growing demand for Apple’s A18, while its A17 Pro volume has stabilised since February. We note Apple’s A18 Pro, the 6-GPU version, will feature a larger die area (compared to A17 Pro), which could be a trend for edge AI computing”, Pu wrote in his note. The larger die area indicates that the chip will be able to accommodate more transistors and specialised components. This would make ground for more on-device AI capabilities in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup.
Increasing the die area in a chip is said to increase the risks of defects and design flaws. It could also affect energy efficiency and heat dissipation.
Apple is reportedly anticipated to take a split approach to its AI features this year. It could rely on cloud infrastructure in partnership with Google for some AI features while running other features completely on the device.
The iPhone 16 lineup is expected to debut in the second half of this year with major changes and upgrades. The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are expected to feature the A18 SoC while the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could get an A18 Pro chip. The A18 Pro recently surfaced on Geekbench 6 with 3,500 points on the single-core test and 8,200 on the multi-core test.