Last year’s Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max were the first phones to be powered by a chip manufactured by TSMC using its 3nm process node. The cost of using this new technology forced most chip makers to stick with the 4nm node last year. That won’t be the case later this year as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 both will be produced with a 3nm node resulting in the first Snapdragon 8 and Dimensity chips ever made at that process node.
Those two application processors, along with Apple’s A18 and A18 Pro, are being produced using TSMC’s second-generation 3nm node known as N3E (the first-gen 3nm node was designated N3B). As a foundry’s process node size declines, the size of the transistors used gets smaller which allows more transistors to be shoehorned into the chip. That enhances the performance of the chip while improving the power efficiency of the component. In other words, the larger number of transistors in a chip, the more powerful and energy-efficient it is.
We have seen the number of transistors inside Apple’s A-series chips rise from the 8.5 billion in the 7nm A13 chipset that powered the iPhone 11 series in 2019 to the 19 billion transistors inside the 3nm A17 Pro chip used on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max. This year, Apple’s top Pro models, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, both employ the A18 Pro application processor while the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are powered by the A18. The A18 Pro has a six-core GPU compared to the five-core GPU on the A18. Both are quite capable chipsets,
“A18 Pro has a faster Neural Engine, improved CPU and GPU, and a big jump in memory bandwidth. It also drives advanced video and photo features like Camera Control, and delivers enhanced graphics performance for next-level gaming.”-Apple
For the first time that I can remember, an application processor is the star of a new television ad for the iPhone. Titled “All Systems Pro,” the 38 second video takes place at a rocket firm’s Mission Control and focuses on the launch of the A18 Pro chipset. As the crew goes through the pre-launch checklist, we hear about the A18 Pro’s:
- Neural engine
- Six core GPU
- Next-level gaming
- Support of slow-motion video in 4K at 120fps
- Ability to perform with 93 browser tabs open
The iPhone 16 Pro launches into space and those working for Mission Control erupt in cheers. The words on the screen say, “The most powerful iPhone ever. Powered by the A18 Pro Chip. iPhone 16 Pro.” As the iPhone 16 Pro orbits the earth, the Apple icon appears.
You should see Apple use this as a 30-second ad on television this weekend during NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NHL games. An edited 15-second version might be seen on YouTube, and television.
This is an interesting ad for Appleto release since outside of consumers who read publications like PhoneArena regularly, most consumers could not tell you the name of the application processor (AP) inside the latest iPhone models. Not only can most PhoneArena readers tell you which chipset is used in each phone, they know which AP is used to power the Galaxy S24 series and the Pixel 9 line. They can also tell you the foundry that made each chip and the process node used.
