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Next year will mark Apple’s first major technological leap since 2023, as it is reportedly set to unveil its first 2nm chip. This achievement was made possible by securing nearly half of the initial wafer batch from its trusted foundry partner TSMC. However, this development isn’t our main focus here. Following the iPhone 17 announcement, Apple introduced a significant change to its A-series lineup. We expect this strategy to be repeated when the iPhone 18 and A20 go official.
The iPhone 17 family received the A19 chipset in various configurations: the base model with the A19, along with two versions of the A19 Pro. The less powerful silicon was used for the iPhone Air, while the ‘Pro’ versions were equipped with the best chipset. Apple typically uses chip-binning, where it removes one or more GPU cores from the exact chipset model to differentiate them slightly in performance. Here are the details:
– **A19**: 6-core CPU (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 5-core GPU
– **A19 Pro (iPhone Air)**: 6-core CPU (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 5-core GPU
– **A19 Pro (iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max)**: 6-core CPU (2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 6-core GPU
Despite the similar CPU core count, Apple has differentiated the number of GPU cores. This strategy is expected to be repeated for the A20 and A20 Pro in 2026.
In 2026, it’s reported that the base iPhone 18 will be phased out in favor of Apple’s first foldable iPhone. The second-generation iPhone Air will also be introduced, with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max retaining their positions for next year’s launch. Here are our hardware predictions:
– **iPhone Air**: A20 (6-core CPU: 2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores; 5-core GPU)
– **iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max**: A20 Pro (6-core CPU: 2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores; 6-core GPU)
– **Foldable iPhone**: A20 Pro (6-core CPU: 2 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores; 6-core GPU)
Considering the changes Apple implemented this year, it’s possible that the company could bring binned parts to its M-series in the future. What do you think about this strategy moving forward?
