Apple's next-generation A18 Pro chip for iPhone 16 Pro models will feature a larger die size for boosted artificial intelligence performance, according to Jeff Pu, an investment analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain.
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities this week, Pu added that the A18 Pro chip will be equipped with a 6-core GPU, which would be equal to the A17 Pro chip in iPhone 15 Pro models.
Generative AI
iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for a range of iPhone features and apps, including Siri, Spotlight, Apple Music, Health, Messages, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, Shortcuts, and more. Apple has reportedly considered partnering with companies such as Google, OpenAI, and Baidu for at least some of these features.
iPhone 16 Pro models are rumored to feature an upgraded Neural Engine with "significantly" more cores, which could result in some of iOS 18's generative AI features being exclusive to those models. Pu previously said the larger die size would be related to the Neural Engine, which could power on-device generative AI features.
Apple has used a 16-core Neural Engine since the iPhone 12 series. However, it has still improved the Neural Engine's performance over the years, even when core counts have not changed. For example, Apple says the A17 Pro chip has up to a 2x faster Neural Engine compared to the one in the iPhone 14 Pro's A16 Bionic chip.
Apple has promised to make generative AI announcements later this year. iOS 18 will be previewed at Apple's developers conference WWDC in June, so we're just a few months away from learning about the company's plans.
6-Core GPU
With the A17 Pro chip, iPhone 15 Pro models have significantly improved graphics capabilities compared to previous models. Apple said the new 6-core GPU is up to 20% faster and also more power efficient than the 5-core GPU in the A16 Bionic chip. iPhone 15 Pro models also support hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading for improved graphics rendering, which results in more realistic graphics in games.
Pu believes Apple will stick with a 6-core GPU for the A18 Pro chip, so graphics improvements may be more limited for iPhone 16 Pro models this year.
Wrap Up
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 16 series in September. For more details, read our iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro roundups.
Top Rated Comments
It might even be able to play the right song now! Bwaha
iPhone 16 Pro will be an incredibly popular choice with our existing users and for new iPhone customers, thanks to its iconic design, exceptional performance, and affordable price. This year we’ve built the most powerful and durable iPhone yet, with better battery life thanks to A18 Pro, the same chip as our car lineup that also unlocks advanced camera features like Smart HDR11, Photographic Styles, and Deep difFusion.
And with enhanced 5G, iPhone 16 Pro gives users faster downloads and uploads, higher quality video streaming, real-time interactivity in apps, and much more. Delivering the latest generation of technology and performance at this price is something only Apple can do. Even more pro than the most pro iPhone we've ever created, it TRULY Is the proest iPhone ever.
You're going to love it.
https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/24/iphone-16-pro-a18-pro-chip-artificial-intelligence/
I’ve been using LM Studio. It’s faster at running various LLMs on an M1 Pro than on a AMD 5900x with a Nvidia 3070.
It will be interesting to see how powerful these new processors are.
What remains to be seen though is if Apple actually adds anything that actually makes people interested in upgrading for it and if those features see steady improvement. Siri was revolutionary when she launched and stagnated quickly after. Hopefully this isn't a repeat and hopefully the feature is actually useful.