iPhone 16 series: Apple to use A18 chips, but of different configurations

Reportedly, Apple could use A18 chip with more GPU cores on the iPhone 16 Pro models to differentiate them from the baseline models

Apple will equip all four models of the upcoming iPhone 16 series—iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and Pro Max—with the same processor, reported MacRumors. This would mark a departure from the iPhone 15 series, where different processors were used for the baseline and Pro models. The model numbers for the forthcoming iPhones have appeared online, indicating that Apple will not differentiate processors between the baseline and Pro variants in the iPhone 16 series.

The report notes that Apple has internally listed the new iPhone models with the same “17” prefix in their model numbers. In the iPhone 15 series, the baseline iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus had a “15” prefix, while the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max had a “16” prefix. Apple subsequently announced that the iPhone 15 Pro models would be powered by the A17 Pro chips, while the standard models would utilise A16 Bionic chips. This could change with iPhone 16 series though, as reported by MacRumors.

Potential differentiation through GPU cores

While all four iPhone 16 models are expected to use the new A18 chip, Apple might still differentiate the Pro models by incorporating more Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) cores. This strategy could help distinguish the Pro models from the standard iPhone 16 variants. Additionally, Apple might brand the chip in the Pro models as the A18 Pro.

iPhone SE

The report also mentions that Apple’s internal data includes a fifth iPhone model, likely the anticipated iPhone SE. This model also has the “17” prefix, suggesting it will use the same chipset as the other four iPhone 16 series smartphones. If accurate, Apple could leverage the processing power of the new chips to introduce advanced artificial intelligence features to the iPhone SE.