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Kuo: Only iPhone 14 Pro Models to Get 'A16' Chip, Standard Models to Retain A15
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This makes no sense. So now the rumors are that not only the iphone 14 base retains the notch, but also it retains the A15? Why release a phone at that point? What upgrades can there even be?
You see you say that, I can’t remember what he said about the new iPad Air, but not a single person actually believed it would be getting the M1 chip, and some didn’t believe the Mac Studio and display were real either, yet here we are a week later nearly. But it’s obvious the iPhone will get the new A chip, and 6GB RAM sounds reasonable too, it doesn’t need anymore for a phone running iOS.
This rumor is unfortunately accurate. It’s been all over Chinese social media in the past few months. Kuo usually takes time to verify before putting his weight behind it.
After guys like Kang and L0vetodream received cease and desist letters from Apple, a lot of this info had to move underground. It’s still accurate.
English speaking only posters are understandably skeptical of the rumor, but this has been confirmed by multiple reliable sources.
This would not surprise me as Apple is known for using such tactics to
move people to higher price segments.
move people to higher price segments.
I suspect you’re correct. The disparity offering separate chips doesn’t seem intentional by design, but rather the shortage that is forcing Apple to make adjustments where necessary given how the tech/automotive market has been shorted for well over a year. However, that doesn’t mean things can’t level out either, but doubtful since production for the iPhone starts in July.
Thank you for the confirmation, it really shouldnt be necessary to have to do so though, some people really don’t trust anything these days.
Watch out saying such things here. U risk being swatted or even worse
Mother Apple said to update devices as soon as a new one is released.I can see Apple doing this. It's just like the watch. They get to use the processor for another year, no real reason to worry since Apple's processors offer more advantages over competing phones (not by Apple).
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.
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
Kuo's recent reports make it sound like we're entering the Malaise Era of Apple products.
That makes sense. I said somewhere else before, the world only has so many fabrication plants, and they have to make all the chips, when car manufactures are having to stop producing car models as they can’t get enough chips to build them you know it’s a mess that is going to take years to resolve.
Apple is making great products. They just can’t get them into the hands of costumers like they and their costumers prefer.Kuo's recent reports make it sound like we're entering the Malaise Era of Apple products.
Being forced to bifurcate the SoC offerings of their flagship phone lineup is not a sign of malaise, it is a sign of externalities. Apple definitely wants their new model year phones to share the same new model year SoC. Apple has just found the limit of their privileged position with semiconductor vendors.
Got to be the chip shortage finally catching up with Apple, and the war in Ukraine looks set to extend it into next year.
This will be the generation where the mini is sadly dropped and the non Pro and Pro phones will stand side by side on screen size.
Don't forget that the A15 was already a bifurcated line on the iPhone 13 generation. The 13 Pro had a 5th GPU core activated so I could easily see Apple using - in effect - the CPU from the iPhone Pro 13 possibly with an overclock tweak.
The Pro also included 6Gb RAM over the regular 4Gb although the iPad mini 6 has the 5th GPU core but only 4Gb RAM.
This clearly wouldn't have worked in a 14 Mini (where battery life would have been affected by it) so potentially that's another reason why Apple have dropped it for the 14 generation.
So if Apple offer battery life increase through efficiency and/or battery size (especially in a 14 Max), GPU increase through using the 13 Pro SoC, possibly 6Gb RAM on the 14 Max model? And maybe improve the cameras - would that be enough?
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No problem here. A15 is so powerful that nobody (except Geekbench and maybe gamers) can recognize even more powerful processor. Chips in modern phones are good enough to stay longer than 1 year. Also, I am afraid that we are getting to the physical limits and new chiplets will not be so better than previous generations.
I could be wrong, but I don't think Kuo said a peep about the Mac Studio. Youtuber Luke Miani broke that news.
Kuo's recent reports make it sound like we're entering the Malaise Era of Apple products.
It comes down to cost to Apple, wafer cycle time, and the limits of transistor shrinking.
TSMC 4nm offers only about 5% logic area reduction, meanwhile A16 Crete is about 20% larger than A15. Keep in mind A15 is already 20% larger than A14.
*IF* it's true, I really can't see incremental improvements to cameras selling the vanilla iPhone 14/Max. It would need to have at least a high-refresh display, but all rumours are pointing to another year of 60hz for the regular model.
That would be absurdly foolish on Apple’s part. If this is their obscene greed showing yet another form of trying to force non-pro buyers to spend more when upgrading, then shame on them. If the chip isn’t upgraded then there would be zero improvement over the 13.
I do hope and believe this rumor isn’t true
But if it is, maybe the lineup would be:
- SE 3: $429 (as SE 2 always kept its price)
- 11: Discontinued (as XR when 13 came out)
- 12 mini: Discontinued (lowering the price would destroy the new SE)
- 13 mini: $599 (as 12 mini did when 13 came out)
- 13: Discontinued
- 14: $699 (price cut would be necessary to justify keeping A15)
- 14 Max: $729
- 13 Pro: Discontinued (as all Pro models have been)
- 13 Pro Max: Discontinued
- 14 Pro: $999 (replacing the current ones)
- 14 Pro Max: $1099
But if it is, maybe the lineup would be:
- SE 3: $429 (as SE 2 always kept its price)
- 11: Discontinued (as XR when 13 came out)
- 12 mini: Discontinued (lowering the price would destroy the new SE)
- 13 mini: $599 (as 12 mini did when 13 came out)
- 13: Discontinued
- 14: $699 (price cut would be necessary to justify keeping A15)
- 14 Max: $729
- 13 Pro: Discontinued (as all Pro models have been)
- 13 Pro Max: Discontinued
- 14 Pro: $999 (replacing the current ones)
- 14 Pro Max: $1099
Pretty much this, the phone being described already exists, it is called the iPhone 13, now in Max Size
If this rumor is true it would be too tempting to just get a cheaper iPhone 13 instead.