A18 Pro Chip Archives - Gizmochina

Apple could again start powering non-pro iPhones with the latest chip

Debasish — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 11:26:57 +0000

Apple is set to launch the iPhone 16 series in September. Now a rumor says that the non-Pro iPhone 16 models will also get the latest and most capable A series chip, the Apple A18 Pro.

For those unfamiliar, Apple started using generation-old Bionic chips on non-Pro iPhones starting with the iPhone 14 series. With the iPhone 15 series, Apple also added a ‘Pro’ branding to the chipset for the Pro models.

However, the latest rumor says that even the non-Pro iPhones will use the latest A-series chip (possibly named A18 Pro). The news comes from @Nicolás Alvarez on X who discovered relevant codes in Apple’s backend. The codes reveal that all four iPhone 16 models will be powered by an A18 Pro chip.

Apple Intelligence could be the reason behind the decision

The A15 Bionic was capable enough to run the basic features in iOS without an issue. However, this isn’t the case anymore. iOS 18 integrates Apple Intelligence, which requires the phone to run some AI features natively on the device. While these features are also noted as basic AI features, the NPUs in the older chips aren’t capable enough to accomplish the tasks. As a result, only the Pro models of the iPhone 15 series (with the A17 Pro chip) support Apple Intelligence.

The A18 Pro chip will reportedly come with a more capable NPU as compared to the A17 Pro from last year. It could result in a noticeable difference in AI performance between the two chips. It could also repeat what we are seeing with the iPhone 15 series when it comes to the implementation of Apple Intelligence in the future. This could be the reason why Apple has decided to power all the iPhone 16 models with the new chip.

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iPhone 16 could outperform the M4-powered iPad Pro in AI performance

Debasish — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 08:44:25 +0000

Apple is about to launch the iPhone 16 series which will be (at least the pro models) powered by the A18 Pro chipset. The company has finally joined the AI race and has developed a couple of exciting AI features for the upcoming iPhones.

You may be already aware of the importance of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) in in an SoC in performing AI-related tasks. Now the latest news is about the capability of the NPU of the Apple A18 Pro. According to a report, the NPU inside the Apple A18 Pro is more capable than the Apple M4 SoC that powers the latest iPad Pro. Not to mention, the powerful NPU hints at a respectable AI performance of the upcoming iPhones.

Apple has been building up the foundation for integrating AI with iPhones for a long time

The NPU inside the A17 Pro chip, which powers the iPhone 15 Pro models, comes with 16 cores and the AI performance is measured at 35TOPS. For reference the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 from last year offers an AI performance of 15TOPS. We will need to see what Qualcomm manages to achieve this year with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC.

The 11″ and 13″ iPad Pro released this year equips the M4 chipset, which is based on TSMC’s 3nm process node, and the NPU capability of the SoC is measured at 38 TOPS, slightly higher than the A17 Pro from last year. Now it is said that the new smartphone chipset from Apple will surpass the M4 again in this regard. Nonetheless, the end-user experience or the implementation of specific AI features depends on other aspects such as the form factor of the device.

At the last Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, Apple announced its contribution to AI, “Apple Intelligence”. It is integrated into iOS 18 system apps and voice assistant Siri. Now iOS 18 requires a chipset with a powerful NPU as Apple focuses on running as many AI features as possible natively on iPhones.

It is said that the NPU capability of the A18 Pro may surpass 45 TOPS, exceeding the strongest NPU among current Windows AI PC processors, which is offered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite.

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Apple will significantly improve single-core performance of the A18 Pro

Erencan Yılmaz — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:39:46 +0000

Apple’s latest A17 Pro chip outperformed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Now Apple is working on the A18 Pro chip, and some people have revealed its Geekbench 6 scores. The performance numbers show significant improvements in single-core performance compared to the previous generation A17 Pro.

Apple A18 Pro Geekbench 6 Score

Apple is rumored to use the A18 SOC in all models of the iPhone 16 series. This is very good news for users who are considering buying the iPhone 16. The iPhone 15 introduced last year uses the previous generation Apple A16 Bionic, which is the same SOC as the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Some people did not prefer the iPhone 15 and 14 models because of the lack of an upgrade in the processor department. Now, the Geekbench 6 result of the emerging A18 Pro gives some information about the next generation of iPhones.

Apple A18 Pro Geekbench 6 Score

Apple A18 Pro scored 3500 on single-core and 8200 on multi-core, with better single-core performance compared to the previous generation A17 Pro. For reference, the A17 Pro only scored 2906 on single core and 7231 on multi-core. Recently, a Geekbench result was leaked on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, showing much better multi-core performance than the Apple A18 Pro.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 scored 2985 on single core and 10762 on multi-core in the leaked Geekbench 6 results, which is quite close to Apple’s M3 chip. We will start seeing devices with Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in the 4th quarter of this year. Especially the comparison between the highly anticipated Apple A18 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will reveal which chip will win in 2025.

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Entire Apple iPhone 16 series to feature A18 Bionic chipset: Report

Sean — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:03:55 +0000

The Apple iPhone 16 series is expected to be the company’s next generation of flagship smartphones. While the iPhone 15 lineup was just recently unveiled, new rumors and leaks have already surfaced regarding its successor. Now, the latest report hints at the A18 Bionic chipset being common across all four devices.

All Apple iPhone 16 models to come with A18 Bionic SoC

The news arrives from known analyst Jeff Pu. He claimed that sources from the Apple supply chain has revealed that the Cupertino based giant’s 2024 iPhones will be equipped with the A18 series SoC. Apparently, this new chipset will power every model of the iPhone 16 series. In other words, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max will come with the same processor family.

In the recent past, the brand featured the latest A series chips on the higher end Pro models while the base and Plus models get the previous year’s chips. But from 2024, it seems like the entire lineup will feature the A18 series chips. The renowned analyst claims that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will feature the A18 Bionic SoC while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will launch with the A18 Pro chipset. Just recently, Pu shared in a research note that the new iPhone 16 Pro series will arrive with some notable upgrades. This includes the faster Wi-Fi 7 standard and a new ultra wide angle lens.

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iPhone 16 to get A18 chips across all models, according to analyst

Rajesh Regmi — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 09:36:52 +0000

Apple is rumored to be ditching its current trend of using older chipsets in its base iPhone models, and instead equip all four iPhone 16 models with the A18-branded chips, according to supply chain analyst Jeff Pu.

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are powered by the A16 Bionic chip, which was used in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro models. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, on the other hand, feature the latest A17 Pro chip, which is based on TSMC’s 3nm node.

Pu believes that Apple will use the A18 chip for all four iPhone 16 models, which would be manufactured using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm chip fabrication process, known as N3E. This process will be less expensive and has improved yield compared to TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process, N3B, which is being used for the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models.

Pu also shared his predictions for the chipsets that will be used in each iPhone 16 model. He believes that the standard iPhone 16 models will get the A18 chip, while the Pro models will use the A18 Pro chip. As said earlier, all of the chips will be manufactured using TSMC’s N3E fabrication process.

However, it’s important to note that Pu is likely making an educated guess about the marketing names since the iPhone 16 lineup is still a year away from launch (via MacRumors). It remains to be seen whether Apple will actually use the A18 and A18 Pro branding, or stick with the A17 and A18 Pro branding, as it has done in recent years.

Despite the uncertainty about the marketing names, Pu has a good track record when it comes to predicting Apple’s plans. He was the first source to report that the iPhone 15 Pro models would be equipped with an increased 8GB of RAM, and that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would have a higher starting price than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

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