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Kuo: Only iPhone 14 Pro Models to Get 'A16' Chip, Standard Models to Retain A15

ian87w said:
If supply is an issue, then it's more plausible for Apple to stagger the releases, like what they did with the iPhone 12.
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Tim Cook has consistently said supply chain issues have been on legacy nodes so if this is true I'm not fully convinced it's due to supply chain issues.
 
The whole display will be just in the pro, the soc upgrade just in the pro…how apple wants to sell the normal 14 since it will be the same as the current 13?!
Again this should be taken with a lot of salt
Mac pro at wwdc and this twitter account must be put on hold
 
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This move really wouldn’t surprise me. Apple’s silicon is so far ahead of the competition, and the performance of the A15 is more than the majority of consumers need that they can get away with it.

It would also provide a better incentive than just a better camera for people to choose a Pro model.
 
name99 said:
It's not an utterly absurd rumor.
The A16 (and probably the M2 as based on the same core) offer Apple a new "reset/restart" point in various ways at the hardware level. One can imagine various things like
- ARMv9
- drop support for LPDDR4
- new interrupt architecture
- new virtualization architecture
- new GPU design
- etc etc

Point is, such a reset comes with various issues
(a) older SW no longer works (eg drop GPU features that Apple has been warning about for past few years)
(b) maybe even older HW no longer works (if Apple drops some obsolete modes from Lightning, or BT, or WiFi?)
(c) if you drop LPDDR4 support, you, duh, have to use LPDDR5...

So what are the knock-on effects?
- If LPDDR5 is not available in large enough quantities then Apple cannot transition the entire iPhone line to LPDDR5.
It doesn't even have to be LPDDR5. There could be something else (eg MRAM, or a new type of flash) that Apple wants to make a foundation for the next few years of Apple designs, but which is in too short supply for the entire iPhone base.
If eg Apple drops some obsolete functionality in, eg, the internal PCIe or USB controllers, that may not seem to affect the outside world, but it then constrains what cameras, displays, etc can be connected.

- if you transition at the higher end first, the low end gets an additional year during which SW and HW are updated, while the high end is already more likely to be using more modern SW and HW.

This is, of course, a substantial reason Apple continues to ship such nice devices, the willingness to drop obsolete functionality in their chips (which not only reduces area but, more importantly, reduces validation time and allows for design ideas that would not be feasible if they also had to work with the obsolete way of doing things).
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I absolutely agree with some of your arguments about the technical specifications. I also think a16-cores will be the foundation for M2 an use v9.

As far the graphics architecture is concerned, cutting off some older ties could also have happend with A14-series graphics and would mostly be handled by software readapting. There won’t be too much break, since the strong M1-generation userbase.

A14/m1/m1pro+max are good examples for multiple memory types in use for the same generation, no strong argument to let a16 explicitly just use lpddr5, the same causal attributes work for lightning etc, the core logic is more favorable for multiple protocols than might think. See new iPad Air: plain usb c vs iPad Pro full TB3. Lightning is just another male version with little specialties to usb protocol.

Should this split take place, I see the main driver in
- cutting costs/maybe even price point reduction for non pro to gain market share or what ever data shows them
- driving sales for pro models (again: what ever data shows them)
- balancing wafer capacity since a16/mx is said to use a semi new process.
 
valleian said:
I wonder if we are going to get a bit of the language used on the M series of chips.

Perhaps A16 for the mainstream iPhone 14 duo (5nm, minor efficiency gains, like the S5 to the S6 was), and A16 Bionic or A16 Pro (or something like that) for the iPhone 14 Pro duo (3nm, bigger efficiency gains, faster speeds, etc.)
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Nice idea
 
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MacRumors said:


Only the iPhone 14 Pro models will have the "A16" chip, while the standard iPhone 14 models will retain the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13, according to insightful Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

iPhone-14-Mock-pill-and-hole-thumb.jpg

In a tweet, Kuo said that the 6.1-inch "iPhone 14 Pro" and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 14 Pro Max" will get the A16 chip, while the 6.1-inch "iPhone 14" and the 6.7-inch "iPhone 14 Max" will retain the same A15 chip from the iPhone 13 lineup.



The two more affordable iPhone models retaining the same chip as the previous year could be a major new point of differentiation between the standard and "Pro" iPhone models. Going forward, it seems plausible that Apple could only offer a new chip with the "Pro" models, before it subsequently trickles down to the two cheaper iPhone models the following year.

Kuo added that all four of the iPhone 14 models are likely to come with 6GB of memory, with the standard iPhone 14 models having LPDDR 4X memory and the iPhone 14 Pro models having LPDDR 5 memory.

Currently, the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 feature 4GB of memory, while the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max feature 6GB of memory. These amounts are unchanged from the iPhone 12 lineup. For the iPhone 14 lineup, Kuo suggests that all models will feature 6GB of RAM, but the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max's LPDDR 5 memory will be up to one and a half times faster and up to 30 percent more power efficient.

Kuo's claim stands in contrast to a rumor from Haitong International Securities' Jeff Pu, which suggested suggested the iPhone 14 Pro models will feature 8GB of RAM, the same amount as the Samsung Galaxy S22 models. That being said, Pu has a mixed track record with Apple rumors. For example, he accurately claimed that 16-inch MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models with mini-LED displays would launch in 2021, but he was incorrect about HomePods with 3D sensing cameras launching in 2019. This may bring the 8GB RAM rumor into question now that Kuo, a more established analyst in the Apple space with a better track record, is claiming otherwise.

Article Link: Kuo: Only iPhone 14 Pro Models to Get 'A16' Chip, Standard Models to Retain A15
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Oh yeah this years iphone 14 has a hole punch that nearly everyone in here all commented was ugly on the samsungs and you'd rather have the notch lmao
 
If the non pro models will have the A15 in them, what would differentiate them from the iphone 13 models? Surely they will not have 3 cameras in a non pro model. They are highly unlikely to have promotion displays as well. How will they sell that as a "new" model without even having a new processor in it?
 
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coolfactor said:
I think it's smart for chips to have a standard 2-year or more lifetime. How can Apple keep coming out with better and better chips every year, forever? It's unrealistic.
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I definitely think we’re getting to that point. I also think once we get an iPhone with a periscope camera lens, after that it will become increasingly difficult for Apple to release any meaningful camera hardware and software updates.
 
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wouldn't have a problem with that. doesn't make sense to keep upgrading the chip every year. at this point they can stagger it (and make more $).

can totally see this happening. you want the latest and greatest? buy a Pro model. simple!

i'll be getting a 14 Pro Max ?
 
Relentless Power said:
That’s pretty much the mindset of any average consumer though, isn’t it? The iPhone 13 naturally will be slashed, which will make it more attractive. The only people generally upgrading their phone to the latest device, are those that are on the ‘annual upgrade plan’ or have completed their install payments on their previous device.

This rumor regarding which chip is in what phone, will have no impact on consumers that have no idea what the ‘A series’ chips even are, let alone understand the differences.
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Or even a 12? My 12 does day to day tasks just as well as my wife's 13. There is diminishing returns. Current apps don't push the modern AX lineup of processors.
 
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ian87w said:
Sure.
It could also mean that this rumor is false. :D
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Nah. There is something very fishy about the comments here. Not just your usual defence of the indefensible but out-and-out mansplaining how the same chip for an extra $100 is actually better for you. That’s Apple PR 101 right there, being parroted by the usual suspects.
Based on that, I think Apple will pull this BS - otherwise the shills wouldn’t be in lock step on it.
 
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dampfnudel said:
I definitely think we’re getting to that point. I also think once we get an iPhone with a periscope camera lens, after that it will become increasingly difficult for Apple to release any meaningful camera hardware and software updates.
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For me, the M1-life cycle that seems to be 2 years (or close to) absolutely is fine, they produce enough novelty.
 
cpnotebook80 said:
The fact that they have a M1 chip in iPad Pro and don't have software to actually make use of it, highlights disappointment and overkill for these chips in small devices (RIP WWDC2021). My iPad Pro M1 has not been touched in 5 months and only use it for updating the apps to keep the system up to date.
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I’m stuck with the iPad Air 2, I only miss bigger disk size.

Unless you do need more disk soze (aah! That old trick Apple!) do serious work with lightroom/editing video or creating 3d/arts, it is pointless upgrading the iPad.

Gaming? XD please…
 
This would probably be so Apple can use more wafers at TSMC to make M1 Pros, Maxs, Ultras and M2s. They probably have a big stockpile of A15s that they an use for either iPhone 13s and 14s depending on what sells more.
 
Is Apple doing this to achieve scale for the A15? Only the iPad mini and the iPhone 13 series will be using it by the time A16 comes. Both relatively low volume.
 
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