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Apple Reportedly Planning to Switch Technology Behind A17 Bionic Chip to Cut Costs Next Year
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I just want an iPhone 15 Pro Max in Product Red.
I’m sick of iPhones in the heat dimming and over heating we need better chips that have cooling
Apple will likely be the ONLY high volume purchaser of N3B, so it makes no sense from either TSMC or Apple’s business plans to continue that fab process, it will die.
THAT is the reason for the switch. This being MR however, the hot takes about greed, Tim Cook, shareholders, etc have to take their moment.
TSMC is winding down N3B in the future, NOBODY will be able to use it.
For those interested in the topic:
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It's weird how there's always a few super doom-and-gloomers on this board, spreading their view that "there's a huge recession coming!" or "these days people don't have the disposable income they once had, they can barely pay for groceries and rent..." And then retail sales continue chugging along strongly.
There is a thing called the Business Cycle, and there will always be periods of recession and expansion. It's normal. I would love to know why, if there's a large economic slowdown coming very soon, it would be any different than what we've seen in the past.
If so, then people have a pretty low bar because the newer features lately aren't that great. Minimal changes at best.Both sides in one comment
1. As if Apple isn't making huge profits on the iPhone and they need to cut costs.
2. So what? At this point, who's buying an iPhone for the latest chip? It's much more about the features of the newer phone. The chips are fast enough so I doubt anyone will notice a bit of an efficiency loss.
While you are right about a massive recession coming, this is not the reason for the switch.
N3B is being abandoned entirely by TSMC as it is not compatible at all with N3E, N3P, N3X, or N3S. It’s the odd duck out, so it’s being discontinued by TSMC in their roadmaps. That’s the reason for the switch.
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
I get cutting costs is good and efficient but this seems to be the only goal and focus nowadays for Apple. 😩
Thx for summarizing, makes it all much less dramatic than the article tries to make it sound.
Exactly, TSMC is not Apple's only customer and TSMC probably want to use the line space for something else.
Leave it to MacRumors community to talk down a chip before it or its variant have even been released...
Less "efficiency" is NOT power management. If the variant ends up being speedier and thus more power hungry, Apple could run the variant at a slightly lower clock or use the OS power management more aggressively when the chip is more or less idle if battery life ends being a factor.
I could also see Apple putting the variant into an iPad where they have a larger battery to play with.
This is the exactly the benefit of Apple designing their own silicon. They know exactly what product each chip is destined for and can put the right chip in accordingly.
Johny Srouji and his team know exactly what they're doing.
I already tried to read it 3 times but still don’t get it.
The iPhone 15 Pro will have a better chip than the iPhone 16 Pro next year to save costs? But if the chip is already expensive today and Apple wants to save costs, why wouldn’t they already try to save costs on the yet to be released iPhone 15? Doesn’t make sense to me
The iPhone 15 Pro will have a better chip than the iPhone 16 Pro next year to save costs? But if the chip is already expensive today and Apple wants to save costs, why wouldn’t they already try to save costs on the yet to be released iPhone 15? Doesn’t make sense to me
Why does this keep coming up lol
Even in the fanless MBA or iPad, the M2 TDP is up to 18-20W. The phone chips are >8W. If you just threw more cores into the phone, all you'd do is throttle them more at load.
M1/M2 are basically what the A14X would have been, the doubling of the iPhone chip.
The iPhone is not going to get an M chip. But I do wonder when we'll move on from the 4+2 core configuration.
lol apple long fallen to capitalist bottom line when they charge exorbitant amount of money for basic ram and ssd upgrades.
I hope this one stays a rumor. I think Apple's A-CPUs are one of its big advantages and it's a dangerous slope to see them as costs to be cut. There are tech enthusiasts that buy iPhone and iPad because of the power and efficiency advantage over what is used in Android land (maybe a silly reason, but it is a reason). Hell, watch any YouTube video about an iOS device and it's mentioned. I think it's an advantage that losing would cost them word of mouth from the people who tell grandma what overpriced phone she needs.
Also, I can't remember who came up with their modern A series but I hope they paid the guy bazillions.
Also, I can't remember who came up with their modern A series but I hope they paid the guy bazillions.
But that's something Apple introduced with a software update. Even my XS Max will dim occasionally in the sunlight. That started happening only when I updated it form iOS 14 about a year ago.
Sound similar to what supposedly happened with the A16 chip’s graphics which were originally planned to be a big jump.
The armchair punditry in this thread, my word.
I currently use an iPhone 12 Pro Max with an A14 Bionic. When I upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, or whatever the equivalent is, it will be significantly faster and more power efficient by every metric - regardless of which process they use to fabricate the A17. I would also wager it will be faster and more power efficient than the A16 Bionic it succeeds, although naturally by a much smaller margin. That's all that matters.
The way some of you are carrying on, you'd think they were die shrinking an A4 or something, jeez.
I currently use an iPhone 12 Pro Max with an A14 Bionic. When I upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, or whatever the equivalent is, it will be significantly faster and more power efficient by every metric - regardless of which process they use to fabricate the A17. I would also wager it will be faster and more power efficient than the A16 Bionic it succeeds, although naturally by a much smaller margin. That's all that matters.
The way some of you are carrying on, you'd think they were die shrinking an A4 or something, jeez.
Isn't Apple going to eventually switch from ARM and move over to the RISC-V chip?
riscv.org
RISC-V International
RISC-V is an open standard Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) enabling a new era of processor innovation through open collaboration.
riscv.org
- M3 Ultra
- M3 Extreme
- Hardware Ray-Tracing
- N3X process
- A18 cores
- 4.2GHz
- WWDC 2025
"Apple Reportedly Planning to Switch Technology Behind A17 Bionic Chip to Cut Costs Next Year."
It's just rumours so what's to be believed?
But it's not surprising as it appears that Cook is trying to cut costs whenever and wherever possible.
The issue is that no matter the type or amount of cost cutting, Apple products will still be priced at a premium. Considering the premium that Apple charges for its products, many of which really don't change much but incrementally year to year, it's absurd.
But Apple lovers/fan people will still buy the products regardless.
It's just rumours so what's to be believed?
But it's not surprising as it appears that Cook is trying to cut costs whenever and wherever possible.
The issue is that no matter the type or amount of cost cutting, Apple products will still be priced at a premium. Considering the premium that Apple charges for its products, many of which really don't change much but incrementally year to year, it's absurd.
But Apple lovers/fan people will still buy the products regardless.