Apple introduced the new A18 processor and its more powerful modification, the A18 Pro. The first became the basis for the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus smartphones, while the older modification is the basis for the flagship iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Max.
Image source: Apple
The A18 processor is based on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process technology, combining two high-performance and four energy-efficient cores, as well as 16 neural engine cores, which, according to Apple, are twice as efficient as previous chips in machine learning tasks. The new chip also provides 17% higher memory bandwidth.
Apple compares the A18 to the A16 Bionic, which is used in the iPhone 15, noting a 30 percent increase in performance from the new processor. The A18 also features a five-core GPU, which is up to 40% faster than the GPU in the A16 Bionic. The new GPU is also 35% more energy efficient than its predecessor.
According to Apple, the A18 delivers 30% faster sustained gaming performance than its predecessors. The company has also released several images of the motherboards of the new smartphones, which show a new optimized component layout that allows for more efficient heat dissipation.
Apple noted the new chip’s support for hardware ray tracing for reflections and shadows, and showed the iPhone game Honor of Kings: World, which debuted on the iPhone, running on ultra settings on the iPhone 16. Apple also noted that all AAA games that were previously only available on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will now run on regular iPhone 16.
The flagship smartphones iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone Pro Max received the A18 Pro processor. It is also based on TSMC’s second generation 3nm process technology. And it has the same configuration of CPU cores: two productive and four energy-efficient.
The processor contains 16 neuroengine cores capable of performing 35 trillion operations per second. The GPU configuration includes six cores. The chip provides 17% higher memory bandwidth.
According to Apple, the A18 Pro is 15% faster than the A17 Pro and can deliver the same level of performance while consuming 20% less power. The company also noted next-generation programmable machine learning accelerators, faster USB3 speeds, and ProRes video recording on the new chip—you can now capture 4K 120 FPS with ProRes.