It’s been rumored that all four of the upcoming iPhone 16 models will use the A18 chip. Per new code changes discovered by Nicolás Alvarez, five new iPhone models have surfaced in Apple’s backend code, with evidence each of them is powered by the A18 chip.
As noted by MacRumors, the code refers to the following iPhone identifiers:
iPhone17,1
iPhone17,2
iPhone17,3
iPhone17,4
iPhone17,5
These also fall within Apple’s past naming conventions, and “Apple’s iPhones typically tie identifier to chip,” the report explains.
Apple’s current iPhone 15 lineup sees the lower-end models equipped with the less powerful A16 Bionic, while the higher-end models use the A17 Pro. This processor difference, along with differences in RAM allotments, is why the iPhone 15 Pro models support Apple Intelligence and the non-Pro models do not.
At present, it’s unknown as to whether the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will feature an even more powerful version of the A18 chip.
Apple is also rumored to be increasing the RAM in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus from 6GB to 8GB. There have also been rumors that the smartphone will offer a significantly faster Neural Engine among its hardware.
It’s unclear why there are five model identifiers in Apple’s backend. One of them could refer to an upcoming version of the iPhone SE, although this remains speculation.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac, @Nicolas09F9, and MacRumors