Last year, Apple launched the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus with the A16 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max boasted the A17 Pro chip. This differentiation between the Pro and non-Pro models was not well-received, especially considering that only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max supported Apple Intelligence due to their chipset.
However, it appears that Apple will not repeat this mistake. According to code discovered in Apple’s backend, all four iPhone 16 models will be powered by an A18 chip.
Apple to Standardize A18 Chip Across All iPhone 16 Models
While there may still be a tiered system with the non-Pro iPhone 16s getting the A18 and the Pro models receiving an A18 Pro or a similar variant, the non-Pro devices will not be saddled with last year’s SoC. This move is expected to be better received by consumers, who were previously frustrated by the significant performance gap between the Pro and non-Pro models.
If Apple implements a tiered system, the vanilla models might have a smaller number of GPU cores, either binned or disabled. Interestingly, five models were discovered in Apple’s code, sparking speculation that the fifth model could be the next iPhone SE, potentially launching in early 2025 with the same chip as the iPhone 16 family.
Pokdepinion: While the Pro models will undoubtedly have better versions of the chip, this will at least not make consumers feel like they’re getting an outdated chip just because they decide to go for non-Pro models.
