Every year, Apple announces a new generation of iPhone. Sometimes it comes with a completely new design, sometimes not. But the only thing we know for sure is that the new iPhone will have a new chip – at least that’s been the case so far. Recent rumors suggest that some iPhone 14 models will keep the A15 Bionic chip from this year’s models. But why does Apple do this?
What do the rumors say?
famous analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported this month Only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will have the new “A16” chip, while the mid-range iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max models (the mini model is expected to be replaced by a 6.7-inch phone) will have the A15 Bionic chip. .
9to5Mac Koo’s report confirmed With independent sources, which also indicate that two of this year’s four new iPhone models will be powered by the A15 Bionic chip, while the other two will feature the next generation of Apple’s Silicon chip. Both ko And the 9to5Mac’s Sources also state that all new iPhones will have 6GB of RAM, while the cheapest models currently come with 4GB of RAM.
So this is what the iPhone 14 lineup will look like:
- iPhone 14 6.1 inch with A15 chip
- 6.7 inch iPhone 14 Max with A15 chip
- iPhone 14 Pro 6.1 inch with A16 chip
- iPhone 14 Pro 6.7 inch with A16 Chip
But will Apple release a new flagship device with an old chip? It turns out the company has done this before, and it’s all about marketing.
The strategy behind Apple’s chip names
Since the introduction of the iPhone 4 in 2010 with Apple’s first custom chip called “A4,” the new chips that came after have always followed the same nomenclature. We have A5, A6, A7, and the list goes on.
However, in 2012, Apple had to create a more powerful chip for the new 3rd generation iPad, which was the first to have a Retina HD display. This chip was entirely based on the A5 chip from the iPhone 4s and iPad 2, but the new version had a quad-core GPU while the original version had a dual-core GPU.
To distinguish the new chip and make it look more powerful, Apple called it the A5X. Since then, all new chips created specifically for the iPad have their “X” name as a way of indicating that they are faster due to a more powerful GPU and more RAM. This strategy was used until 2018, when Apple released the third generation iPad Pro with the A12X chip.
In 2020, instead of creating a more powerful version of the A13 chip for the new iPad Pro, Apple simply repurposed the same A12X chip from the 2018 iPad Pro, but this time with an additional GPU core enabled. This change was enough for Apple to rename the chip “A12Z Bionic”.
M1 and a new era for Apple Silicon
When Apple finally decided to migrate their Macs from Intel processors to their own silicon, they once again needed a solid name to emphasize that these chips were more powerful and different than anything the company had done before — so they came up with the M1 chip.
However, on the inside, the M1 is basically what Apple would call the A14X in the past, as the chip inside the latest iMac and MacBook Air is essentially the iPhone 12’s A14 chip with more CPU and GPU cores. Then Apple created the more powerful M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra variants, all based on the same A14 chip.
The name “M1” has become very catchy, or don’t you think having an iPad Air with an M1 chip sounds more awesome than anything with an A14X chip? My point is that Apple is using marketing to its advantage to make even the smallest changes into something bigger, and it could easily do so with iPhone chips.
Which chip will be in the iPhone 14?
As I pointed out recently in another article, Apple currently has two different versions of the A15 Bionic chip, although they are not advertised using different names. The regular A15 Bionic chip used in the iPhone 13 and iPad mini 6 models has a hexa-core CPU and a 5-core GPU with 4GB of RAM. However, the iPhone 13 Pro models have an improved A15 Bionic chip with a hexa-core GPU and 6GB of RAM.
This additional GPU gives the iPhone 13 Pro 34% more graphics power than the iPhone 13, while the 6GB of RAM ensures that more apps stay in the background for longer.
We don’t know why Apple will use the A15 chip in the next generation iPhone. This may be related to a lack of components or the company has simply realized that most ordinary consumers won’t even notice the difference between a brand new A16 chip and an existing A15 chip.
However, when we say that some iPhone 14 models will have an A15 chip, it does not mean that they will have the same A15 chip as the iPhone 13. Apple may use the high-end version of its chip with a better chip. GPU and 6GB of RAM and called it the A15X, just as it did with the A12Z chip in the 2020 iPad Pro.
Apple could even call it the A16 chip and create a new chip with a different geometry called the A16 Pro, as it did with the Mac chips. The Apple Watch Series 7 has the same CPU as Apple Watch Series 6However, the chips are named “Apple S6” and “Apple S7” due to minor internal changes made to the SoC.
Whatever chip is inside the iPhone 14, Apple’s marketing team definitely has something in mind to make it look like something completely new.
FTC: We use affiliate links to earn income. more.
“Unapologetic communicator. Wannabe web lover. Friendly travel scholar. Problem solver. Amateur social mediaholic.”