Cost efficiency is only a benefit but differentiation across iPhones is not a bad thing. Standard model users do not need Pro/gaming processes and other features.
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iPhone 16 to Feature First A-Series Chip Designed Specifically for Standard Models
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Agreed. And when the stagnation sets in despite all of Apple’s best efforts, we can probably expect the Ultra name to enter the iPhone lineup
Mother Nature should take a look at the power consumption of those A17 Pros...
I turned off my phone (to remove the Siri influence) and point-blank asked my 15 Pro Max it’s opinion about Carbon.I want buy it if it isn’t CARBON NEUTRAL! Come on Apple. You can be better than this pfffff
Didn’t say anything positive or negative, so I’m taking that as carbon neutral.
I’ve had every iPhone except the 12. Just felt like not upgrading this year.
Apple can offset that footprint, by buying up forests, cutting them down, and burying the trees underground.I want buy it if it isn’t CARBON NEUTRAL! Come on Apple. You can be better than this pfffff
A stealth effort to bury wood for carbon removal has just raised millions
Kodama has raised more than $6 million from Bill Gates’ climate fund and other investors, as it pursues new ways to reduce wildfire risks and lock away carbon in harvested trees.
This is not surprising at all considering that they named the new chip "A17 Pro."
The standard iPhone as never going to get a "Pro" labeled chip.
Hopefully in the future this "Pro" chip will get even more advanced capability. At the moment it's not a significant difference.
I also wonder if Apple will start putting more RAM into the larger capacity iPhone, like the iPad Pro.
The standard iPhone as never going to get a "Pro" labeled chip.
Hopefully in the future this "Pro" chip will get even more advanced capability. At the moment it's not a significant difference.
I also wonder if Apple will start putting more RAM into the larger capacity iPhone, like the iPad Pro.
I'm surprised that it's cheaper to do a whole new run on an older node vs just using binned parts.
A17 Peasant
genuinely curious what that will look like, since afaik A17 Pro isn't that impressive coming from A16 Bionic, GPU performance aside.
this is insane, i need more power to run ML & AI models on my phone, i am waiting for Apple to get to 100 core nural engine to do this.
Actually almost all mobile phones do what i want, i don't need more power, it would be great if they can focus on Cost, weight and battery life.
Actually almost all mobile phones do what i want, i don't need more power, it would be great if they can focus on Cost, weight and battery life.
Ah, now it makes sense why they called it A17 “Pro”.
So I’m guessing they’ll be using like a binned version of the A17 Pro next year with the non-Pro iPhone 16 models and it’ll be called just “A17” ? 🤔
So I’m guessing they’ll be using like a binned version of the A17 Pro next year with the non-Pro iPhone 16 models and it’ll be called just “A17” ? 🤔
Mother Nature would be proudI want buy it if it isn’t CARBON NEUTRAL! Come on Apple. You can be better than this pfffff
Probably. I own plenty of Apple stock but I am not blind to Apple's issues, which are many.
Great. This will slow innovation even more.
The A17 chip designed for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will be made using a fundamentally different manufacturing process to the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro to cut costs, according to a rumor that has now been clarified by a reliable source.
A Weibo user who claims to be an integrated circuit expert with 25 years of experience working on Intel's Pentium processors was first to float the rumor in June. Now, the same source has clarified Apple's apparent plan for its standard iPhones' chip in 2024.
The iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip is fabricated using TSMC's N3B process, but Apple reportedly plans to switch to the lower-cost N3E process for next year's standard A17 chip designed for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. This will mark the first time that Apple has designed a chip specifically for its standard iPhone models. In previous years, Apple simply gave the entire iPhone lineup the same chip before staggering them by one year between the standard and the Pro models starting with 2022's iPhone 14.
The A15 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus is a higher binned variant with one additional GPU core than the A15 used in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, so some cross-generational differences despite outwardly featuring the same chip would not be unheard of, but this would effectively be the retention of the same name on a fundamentally different chip.
N3B is TSMC's original 3nm node created in partnership with Apple. N3E, on the other hand, is the simpler and cheaper node that most other TSMC clients will use. N3E has fewer EUV layers and lower transistor density than N3B, resulting in lower efficiency. N3B has also been ready for mass production for longer than N3E, but it has much lower yield. N3B was effectively designed as a trial node and is not compatible with TSMC's successor processes including N3P, N3X, and N3S, meaning that Apple has to redesign its future chips to take advantage of TSMC's innovations.
Apple was originally believed to be planning to use N3B for the A16 Bionic chip, but had to revert to N4 because it was not ready in time. It is likely the case that Apple is using the N3B CPU and GPU core design originally designed for the A16 Bionic in the A17 Pro, before switching to the original A17 designs with N3E later in 2024. This architecture will presumably be iterated on through TSMC's successor nodes for chips like the "A18" and "A19."
The Weibo user was first to say that the standard iPhone 14 models would retain the A15 Bionic chip, with the A16 being exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models – a rumor that went on to be widely corroborated and turned out true. Earlier this month, Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu corroborated the rumor about 2024's A17 chip being fabricated with N3E, adding that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will also feature 8GB of memory, up from 6GB on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
Article Link: iPhone 16 to Feature First A-Series Chip Designed Specifically for Standard Models
1. Someone actually worked on Pentium processors for 25 years!?! Are they using Pentium as a synonym for x86. I always thought of Pentium as the single Intel x86 generation that followed 80486
2. I’m not sure for much credibility that someone who worked on Intel processors brings when discussing future plans for A17 chips and TSMC.
3.What does weibo on the mainland have to do with TSMC in Taiwan? I don’t know.
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What I want to know is when will Apple bump up base model M3 beyond 8GB RAM & 256GB SSD?
For the money being paid it should be 16GB & 512GB
For the money being paid it should be 16GB & 512GB
Yeah, its absurd and has been for a while. My money is on RAM being increased to 12 gb however, instead of 16, and thats only because they seem to be switching to increments of 12 instead of 8. No idea what'll happen to the SSD.
The process that the A17 Pro is on is a dead end. “Cut costs” in this case is technology illiteracy by the reporters. The current 3nm process is dead, it’s not going to be scaled up by TSMC. The process node that IS going to be how they do 3nm going forward will be cheaper BECAUSE ITS SCALING UP TO BE USED BY EVERYONE.
This isn’t blindly defending Apple, it’s understanding the basics of the chip manufacturing industry.
Also I wish they'd just charge 2x NewEgg for upgrades. I believe Apple should earn and earn well but to charge surpassing 2x is... just plain greed.
I've been using 32GB RAM for over 11 years and for the next decade they should allow me to affordably do 64GB for at least 10 years.
I do not mind if the M3 isn't a Pro, Max or Ultra. I'm coming from a Core i7 22nm. The 1st 5nm iPhone chip could outperform that Intel dinosaur.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not everyone wants forever monthly payments. Some would like to pay for a phone, own it, and not have “monthly rent” for a phone for spans of time.
I know. I know. That’s just crazy thinking to value income enough to not want lots of monthly payment burdens on one for all the days of their life. But some people are just crazy like that. Apparently, they value the money more than “latest & greatest” every year. Poor fools. 🤪