According to analyst Jeff Pu from Haitong Securities (via wccftech) the four iPhones planned for the start of the 2024 school year will all be equipped with the same generation of A18 Bionic processors, still produced by the Taiwanese founder TSMC with the second generation of the process 3 nm etching, FinFET (N3).
iPhone 16/16 Pro, A18 Bionic chip for everyone even if an A18 Bionic Pro is planned
Since the iPhone 14, Apple has differentiated the Pro and non-Pro iPhones, among other things, via their processors: A15 Bionic for the iPhone 14, A16 Bionic for the 14 Pro, then A16 Bionic for the iPhone 15 and A17 Bionic for the Pro versions. This practice would therefore stop, even if the iPhone 16 Pro would have a slightly more advanced A18 Bionic “Pro”.
A18 Bionic, best performance for the N3E engraving process
Reason for this change, the new 3 nm N3E process offers better yield than the previous N3B, which caused a few too many defective units on the production lines. Naturally, this is just hallway noise. Not to mention that, between now and the launch of official production, Apple may change its mind.
