Apple will hold the launch event for the iPhone 16 series devices later today at Cupertino Park. Ahead of the launch, Financial Times reports that the iPhone 16 series’ chips are based on ARM’s newest design architecture. The latest architecture reportedly helps in the implementation of AI features.
iPhone 16 lineup to boast the latest ARM architecture
The non-Pro and Pro models of the iPhone 16 series are powered by the A18 and A18 Pro chips respectively. According to sources familiar with the matter, all the iPhone 16 models boast Arm’s newest v9 chip design. Reportedly, Apple’s adoption of the ARM v9 architecture makes up close to half of its total revenues. This adoption represents a boost for Arm, which has a multiyear licensing agreement with Apple.
According to ARM’s chief executive Rene Haas, the ARM v9 architecture brings in twice the royalties of the previous generation ARM v8, which according to Wikipedia, the A17 Pro chip of the iPhone 15 Pro series is based on. Notably, Apple has been using a customized architecture based on ARM designs for its A-series chips for the past few years. While Apple licenses the ARM instruction set, it significantly customizes the architecture to meet its performance, efficiency, and feature requirements.
Apple has previously used the ARM v9 architecture in its M4 chips, which it announced back in May this year. With the new architecture, the M4 chips offer a significant leap in performance to the latest Mac devices and iPads. A similar improvement in performance is also expected for the A18 chips.
The new architecture could help Apple run more complex AI features on-device
Apple Intelligence will offer a number of AI features, a portion of which runs completely on-device. Not to mention the devices will require the latest and most advanced chip technology to meet the computing needs. As you may already know, only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can handle Apple Intelligence at present.
With the next generation architecture, the A18 and A18 Pro chips are expected to handle more complex edge AI features. Windows laptop makers have also shifted their focus on Windows on ARM thanks to the Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips, which offer higher performance with a lower power consumption.
2024-09-09 15:10:45