iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Fold Said to Use A20 Chip With New Design

While the iPhone 17 bid is inactive 3 months distant from launching, rumors astir adjacent year's iPhone 18 models proceed to surface.


The latest connection comes from Apple expert Jeff Pu. In a probe enactment with equity probe steadfast GF Securities this week, Pu said that helium expects the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and alleged iPhone 18 Fold to beryllium equipped with Apple's A20 chip, and helium believes the spot volition person immoderate cardinal plan changes implicit the A18 and upcoming A19 chips.

First, Pu reiterated that the A20 spot volition beryllium manufactured with TSMC's 2nm process. The existent A18 Pro spot successful iPhone 16 Pro models is fabricated with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, portion the A19 Pro spot for the iPhone 17 Pro models is expected to usage TSMC's third-generation 3nm process. The determination from 3nm to 2nm starting with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Fold models would let for much transistors successful each chip, which helps to boost performance. Specifically, erstwhile reports indicated that A20 chips should beryllium up to 15% faster and up to 30% much powerfulness businesslike than A19 chips.

An overview of existent and expected iPhone chips:

• A17 Pro chip: 3nm (TSMC's first-generation 3nm process N3B)


• A18 chips: 3nm (TSMC's second-generation 3nm process N3E)


• A19 chips: 3nm (TSMC's third-generation 3nm process N3P)


• A20 chips: 2nm (TSMC's first-generation 2nm process N2)

Keep successful caput that these nanometer sizes similar 3nm and 2nm are simply TSMC selling terms, alternatively than existent measurements.


Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo also expects the A20 spot to beryllium 2nm, which is not precise astonishing if you look astatine the iPhone spot trajectory.

There is different alleged alteration that would beryllium much notable. In summation to the 2nm process, Pu said that helium expects the A20 spot to usage TSMC's newer Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) spot packaging technology. With this caller design, RAM would beryllium integrated straight onto the chip's wafer with the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, alternatively than being adjacent to the spot and connected with a silicon interposer.

This packaging alteration could lend to a wide scope of benefits for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Fold implicit erstwhile models, including faster show for some wide tasks and Apple Intelligence, longer artillery life, and improved thermal management. The alteration could besides effect successful the A20 spot having a smaller footprint than erstwhile chips, which could escaped up abstraction wrong the iPhones for different uses.

This packaging alteration for the A20 spot has also been rumored previously.

All successful all, the A20 spot is shaping up to beryllium a large upgrade for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Fold models, which should motorboat successful September 2026.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Fold Said to Use A20 Chip With New Design" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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