Jeff Pu, an analyst at Apple Supply Chain Company, said that all four iPhone 16 models will be equipped with A18 brand chips. In a research report this week from investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said: "We view the A17Pro as a transitional design and now expect all iPhone 16 models to use the A18, using TSMC's N3E.
access:
Apple Online Store (China)
Pu clarified his expectations, outlined below:
iPhone16: A18 chip (N3E)
iPhone16Plus: A18 chip (N3E)
iPhone16Pro: A18Pro chip (N3E)
iPhone16ProMax: A18Pro chip (N3E)
N3E refers to TSMC's second-generation 3nm chip manufacturing process. Compared with TSMC's first-generation 3nm process N3B (the A17Pro chip used in the iPhone 15Pro model), it has lower costs and higher yields.
Given that the iPhone 16 series is still about a year away, Pu is likely just making an educated guess at the marketing names, so it remains to be seen whether Apple will actually launch the A18 and A18 Pro brands. It is still possible that Apple will name its iPhone 16 chips A17 and A18 Pro, which would be consistent with what has happened in recent years.
Pu was the first source to report that Apple had abandoned plans to use solid-state buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models. He also accurately revealed that the memory of the iPhone 15 Pro model will be increased to 8GB, and the starting price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be higher than the iPhone 14 Pro Max.