Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu claims that all four of next year’s iPhone 16 models will be powered by A18-branded chips. Pu made his comments in a research note from investment firm Haitong International Securities this week, shared by MacRumors.
Pu said in the research note, “We view A17 Pro as a transition design and now expect all the iPhone 16 models to feature A18, on TSMC’s N3E.”
Pu later clarified his expectations, saying the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus would use an A18 chip (N3E), while the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max would be powered by an A18 Pro chip (N3E).
Apple’s current iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are powered by the A16 Bionic chip, making the jump to an A18 chip for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus quite newsworthy.
The N3E notation refers to TSMC’s second-generation 3nm chip fabrication process, which is both less expensive and provides improved yield compared to TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process, N3B used to fabricate the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models.
Since we’re nearly a year away from the launch of the iPhone 16 lineup, Pu is making an educated guess at best, as Apple has not yet indicated the naming convention for its next generation of chips.
As usual, you should take all reports like this with a grain of your favorite low-sodium seasoning, as nothing is set in stone until Apple makes an official announcement, and as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, we are nearly a year away from the unveiling of the iPhone 16 lineup.