APPLE'S A17 BIONIC: THE NEXT LEVEL FOR THE iPHONE

APPLE’S FIRST 3NM CHIP IS SHAPING UP TO BE A BIG STEP UP FROM THE A16.

- JASON CROSS

Every year, Apple introduces a new A-series processor with its iPhone upgrades in the fall. We don't expect anything different this year. In fact, the jump to a new manufacturing process technology-TSMC's 3nm process-gives the A17 an opportunity to be the most significant leap in performance and features in several years.

By looking at the past decade of in-house Apple-designed A-series chips, together with what we know about the manufacturing technology available and the company's direction and goals, we can piece together a pretty good educated guess about what to expect from the A17.

JUST FOR IPHONE 15 PRO (OR ULTRA)

Last year, the A16 was exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro, while the standard iPhone 14 used the A15. We expect a repeat of that pattern this year, where the new A17 is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, fave.co/3Je9HYC (or iPhone 15 Ultra, fave.co/3GGAL15, if the rumors are true) and the standard iPhone 15 gets the A16 used in the iPhone 14 Pro models.

Is this the way forward for Apple for the foreseeable future? With smartphone features and quality reaching something of a plateau and Apple's phone chips running circles around most Android phones, there's little reason to change. For Apple, it reduces costs and helps create a bigger differentiator between regular and Pro models, which tends to push customers toward the more expensive iPhone.

APPLE'S FIRST 3NM CHIP

The A14, A15, and A16 were all made using a 5nm manufacturing process from TSMC. Granted, that process has evolved over time, producing chips that are denser and have improved power efficiency, but there's nothing quite like the leap to the next major process node. And that's what we're almost certainly going to get with the A17-the first large-scale consumer chip made with TSMC's 3nm process.