Apple’s iPhone strategy may be getting a major overhaul. Forget the tiered processor system – all four iPhone 16 models might be powered by the same powerhouse. A leak discovered by Nicolás Alvarez suggests all four iPhone 16 models might ditch the tiered processor system and go for a single heart- the A18 chip.
This news follows the months of rumour reports suggesting that Apple could go ahead with a unified chip strategy this time. The fresh leaked code changes within Apple’s internal systems now reveal five new iPhone models, each seemingly equipped with the A18 chip.
Traditionally, there’s a connection between iPhone model identifiers and the processor used. In the iPhone 15 lineup, for example, the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus (identified as iPhone15,4 and iPhone15,5) came with the A16 Bionic chip, while the Pro models (iPhone16,1 and iPhone16,2) boasted the more powerful A17 Pro.
All five leaked identifiers (iPhone17,1 through iPhone17,5) begin with the same number, strongly suggesting that the A18 chip will be common across the entire iPhone 16 lineup.
While four iPhone 16 models are expected, the presence of a fifth identifier in the Apple’s backend has sparked speculation of a potential future iPhone SE model.
This leak hints at more than just a processor change. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus might also see a RAM upgrade from 6GB to 8GB. Additionally, there are whispers about a significantly faster Neural Engine for the entire iPhone 16 lineup.
