3nm A18 Pro chipset will support on-device AI capabilities for iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max،
Haitong International Tech Research analyst Jeff Pu wrote a note to Haitong clients that was obtained by
9to5Google. In the note, Pu said Apple is making changes to the A18 Pro application processor (AP) compared to its predecessor, the A17 Pro AP. In addition to being manufactured using TSMC's second-generation 3nm (N3E) node, the A18 Pro will include some changes designed to enable Apple to deliver on-device AI for the
iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Pu writes in his note: “Based on our supply chain checks, we see increasing demand for Apple's A18, while volume for its A17 Pro has stabilized since February. We note that Apple's A18 Pro, the 6-GPU version, will feature a larger chip. area (compared to the A17 Pro), which could be a trend for AI edge computing.” The larger die area means the chip will be able to accommodate more transistors (generally a good thing ) or specialized components that could enable the iPhone16 Pro Line to deliver exciting on-device AI capabilities.
iPhone 16 Pro Max will be powered by 3nm A18 Pro application processor
We know that Pu mentions Edge AI computing, which refers to AI on the device, as opposed to artificial intelligence managed in the cloud. Reported discussions between Apple and
Google could result in cloud-based AI initiatives for the iPhone starting with iOS 18. A previous report on the A18 and A18 Pro chipsets states that they will “significantly increase the number of embedded AI computing cores.” with a more powerful neural engine.
THE iPhone16 And iPhone16 Plus is expected to be powered by the 3nm A18 SoC while the A18 Pro SoC will drive the iPhone16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The A18 Pro chipset will be more powerful than the A18. Currently, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are powered by the 4nm A16 Bionic SoC. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by the 3nm A17 Pro SoC.
We should learn more about Apple's AI initiative and the A18 and A18 Pro chipsets during the WWDC 2024 Keynote this June.
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