iPhone 15 Pro's Next-Gen Chip Capabilities Expected to Spark Upgrade Demand Among Current iPhone Owners

[MacRumors]

Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 Pro models may spark a "replacement demand" among owners of older iPhones, due to the significant improvements enabled by the A17 processor, Apple's first iPhone chip based on TSMC's first-generation 3-nanometer process.

That's according to suppliers involved in Apple's iPhone supply chain. Quoting from the latest DigiTimes industry report:

TSMC's N3E (3nm enhanced) technology will enable significant specification upgrades in the upcoming iPhone series, the sources said. Suppliers involved in the iPhone supply chain anticipate replacement demand for the 2023 models.

As we've been hearing lately, Apple is widely expected to adopt TSMC's 3nm technology this year for the A17 Bionic chip that is likely to power the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models.

The first-gen 3nm process (also known as N3) is said to deliver a 35% power efficiency improvement over TSMC's 5nm-based N4 fabrication process, which was used to make the A16 Bionic chip for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. The N3 technology will also offer significantly improved performance compared to current chips manufactured on 5nm.

Reports suggest Apple has procured 100% of the initial orders for the first-gen 3nm technology, despite the higher costs involved in manufacturing, suggesting rival smartphone vendors like Samsung are willing to wait until prices come down while they weather what is expected to be a bleak 2023 for the Android market amid global economic turbulence.

Apple's faster A17 chips will be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will adopt the A16 chip that was first used in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. TSMC is poised to move N3E – an enhanced version of N3 – to commercial production in the second half of this year, and Apple is again expected to be the first customer to adopt the process.

The 2023 iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to feature USB-C instead of Lightning, solid-state volume and power buttons, new periscope camera technology, a tweaked design, and more. For all the details, check out our dedicated iPhone 15 Pro roundup.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro's Next-Gen Chip Capabilities Expected to Spark Upgrade Demand Among Current iPhone Owners

 

[dantracht]

Bring it on.

 

[MayaUser]

This is not just good news for the iphones, but for the up-scale Macs SoC too

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Nobody [gross majority] is thinking their phone is slow anymore to trigger a mass upgrade.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Mandatory “super-cycle” articles and predictions coming in 3, 2, 1…

 

[bollman]

Can't say I ever felt the need for more power in my iPhone 13 and the battery last well over a day even with what I consider heavy use which is good enough and then some.
It would need be on a totally new level for me to even consider replacing my iPhone 13. 35% is not going to convince me to replace my phone. Nice to have, sure, but not an argument to replace a fully working phone that does what I need it to do with ease.

 

[aue123]

I don't agree with this sparking "replacement demand" the chip could be 400x faster but iOS still lacks legitimate multitasking functionality. the system doesn't even allow background tasks besides music and maps. I could see maybe gaining another 5 hours of screen time would potentially incentive people to upgrade. definitely not the speed of the chip.

 

[MayaUser]

Nobody [gross majority] is thinking their phone is slow anymore

i bet there are still a lot of people with some old iPhone SE/7/8 out there

 

[UltimateSyn]

I don’t think anyone has been dissatisfied with their iPhone’s power and speed in ~5 years.

 

[widestload]

Really, will most user feel a need to jump to a new phone "just" for a slightly faster chip and an hour or so more battery? These increments happen every year.

 

[newyorksole]

I upgrade every year, but very very excited for this.

hopefully they have another black option. don’t know if I’ll go for that or silver. kind of tired of the annual flagship colors.

 

[phillytim]

I mean, every iPhone yearly release inherently sparks new iPhone demand - the article headline really is meaningless.

_Every_year_ brings greater efficiency. 🥱

I highly doubt mass consumers will lose even more sleep at night once they hear it will have 3nm technology.

Once Apple does something MEANINGFUL, such as solid-state batteries for extended battery life - THAT will truly spark demand. 💸

 

[senttoschool]

Digitimes should not be trusted.

 

[unobtainium]

35% efficiency improvement is massive. The Pro Max will be an absolute battery beast.

 

[senttoschool]

35% efficiency improvement is massive. The Pro Max will be an absolute battery beast.

Chip companies almost always design their chips to a specific TDP (wattage). Apple will likely use the efficiency improvements on faster speeds instead of more battery life.

 

[Havalo]

Reports suggest Apple has procured 100% of the initial orders for the first-gen 3nm technology, despite the higher costs involved in manufacturing, suggesting rival smartphone vendors like Samsung are willing to wait until prices come down

This means Apple will most likely increase the price...again.

 

[MJaP]

I don't think I've done anything on my iPhone where I thought "this phone just isn't powerful enough for me".

 

[SAIRUS]

Tim is salivating at the idea of using cheaper smaller batteries.

 

[Pezimak]

Sorry but I seriously doubt there will be an 'upgrade demand' to buy a 1100 dollar Plus iPhone in any market, just because it's a bit faster and lasts a bit longer. Not in the current climate. Sure people will upgrade and buy it, but no more then usual, in fact in Europe and the UK I predict it to be less considering the price increases and current state of the economy.

 

[kiranmk2]

Can't see an upgrade rush to be honest. Even the combination of 'noticeably' faster performance, extra few hours screen time and ray tracing is unlikely to cause a stampede for new models. Supercycles seem to be caused by large design/feature changes (e.g. the iPhone 6 with larger screen, iPhone X with full screen etc). Getting ride of the pill cutout (under screen FacceID/camera) would likely do it.

 

[Sciomar]

It's a new iPhone and has the descriptor "Pro" in it, of course there will be a large demand. Society is almost fully trained to stay on the annual upgrade cycle, and happy to sign on to the payment plans and tacked on upgrade fees.

 

[karranz]

1500 € for a boring upgrade.

 

[dysamoria]

I’m considering it myself. I bought an iPhone SE3 specifically because I wasn’t ready to buy a new and very expensive upper-range iPhone (which I want for the updated camera tech, but hate the loss of TouchID and physical buttons).

I will likely turn my SE3 over to my girlfriend, who’s said she’s considering moving to the least expensive iPhone possible.

I’m sure Apple could still screw it up somehow, with the continued pathology of “minimalism” and greedy pricing… and software flaws. They continue to not fix the monstrous pile of bugs accumulating in their software, and I’m beyond fed up with this industry’s arrogance and the credulousness of its cult-like supporters of “nothing’s perfect” and “you just don’t understand tech” excuses.

 

[McWetty]

iPhone 12 Pro here. I feel no reason to upgrade. Phone works great. Only reason I’ll be getting the 15 Pro is for more storage, a new battery, USB C and better camera. If it’s lighter because of new materials, bonus!

 

[5232152]

They need to dramatically change the design and features to be worth it.
USB-C (Apple-version, lol), Lidar upgrade, camera upgrade, new metal use?

Yeah, I'm good for another two years I suspect.