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The iPhone 15 series is set to debut in September with the A17 Bionic chipset. But we’re hearing that there could be some changes for the A18 Bionic next year.
Currently, Apple has been using the 5nm process to manufacture the A14, A15 and A16 chipsets in recent years. With the A17, Apple is going to be moving to 3nm. To be exact, they will be moving to the TSMC N3B process. However, Apple is planning to move over to the N3E sometime next year. This would likely affect the A18 Bionic and possibly the A19 Bionic.
The main differences here would be making the chips easier to manufacture. Which will also come with reduced efficiency.
N3B is TSMC’s original 3nm node that was created in partnership with Apple. However, N3E is a simpler, more accessible node that most of TSMC’s other clients use. N3E does also use fewer EUV layers and lower transistor density, compared to N3B. Another major difference is that N3B has been ready for mass production for a much longer time compared to N3E, however it does have a lower yield. Which helps raise prices on a per-chip basis.
It’s unlikely that this will affect the iPhone 15
Switching nodes like this for a processor is going to be a big deal, so it’s pretty unlikely that Apple would do this in the middle of the iPhone 15 life cycle. Meaning that the iPhone 15 will likely be more efficient than the iPhone 16, which would have chips made on the N3E process.
This is a cost-cutting measure by Apple, but it’s unclear if this is being done so that iPhone prices can stay the same, or if the price bump is going to be smaller because of this. There are rumors of the iPhone going up in price later this year, including in the US. Which hasn’t happened since the iPhone X was released back in 2017. So a price increase wouldn’t be too crazy, after all $999 in 2017 is now about $1,240.17 in 2023.
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