‘A18’ Branded Chipsets Expected to be Featured in All iPhone 16 Models
For two iPhone generations now, Apple has packed vanilla iPhone models with older chipsets. This was the case with the iPhone 14 generation, when the iPhone 14 Pro debuted with the A16 Bionic, but the vanilla iPhone 14 still shipped with the older A15 Bionic.
The same thing happened this year with the iPhone 15 generation; The iPhone 15 Pro models had the new 3nm-based A17 Pro chip, while the vanilla iPhone 15 got the A16 Bionic from the previous year. This has likely been Apple’s way of creating a noticeable difference between the two and possibly preventing the vanilla models from cannibalizing sales of the Pro models.
However, a new report from MacRumors suggests that this could soon change with the iPhone 16 generation, as early leaks point to all four new iPhone models using A18-branded chipsets. This was reportedly spotted in early builds of iOS 18.
Internally, the D47, D48, D93, and D94, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, respectively, may feature a new system-on-chip, or SoC, dubbed the t8140, said to be the A18 -chipsets’ internal code.
However, Apple could use the A18 branding on both the vanilla and Pro iPhone 16 models, but it could create a distinction – like the current one – by calling one chipset A18 Pro and the other simply A18. This might lessen the blow Apple faces for not bringing the latest and greatest chip to all models, but it still makes a noticeable difference in terms of performance and their differentiating features.
It is important to note that there is still a lot of time before the release of the new iPhone 16 models, and Apple’s plans may change. That’s why it’s important to take this information with a grain of salt.
