Oliver Haslam on June 2, 2022, 1:29 pm

New Report Backs Up Claims That Only iPhone 14 Pro Models Will Use New A16 Chip

Amid ongoing reports that Apple will reserve the new A16 chips for the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, another report has now backed that notion up. According to Trendforce, Apple will put the existing A15 chip into the mid-range iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max.

We’ve heard many reports to that effect in recent weeks and Trendforce is the latest to echo that sentiment.

It is worth mentioning, the iPhone 14 series to be launched by Apple in 2H22 will feature four new models. Most notably and unlike prior offerings, only the latest processors are employed in the Pro series. In addition to taking into account terminal pricing strategy, this can also highlight differences in market positioning. As rising inflation changes consumer behavior, this type of product positioning is expected to attract more buyers.

While the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max may use the older A15 chip, they’re still expected to benefit from faster and more RAM, making them more speedy in some situations than the existing iPhone 13 models. In terms of raw compute power, however, things are likely to be much the same as last year if you go from an iPhone 13 to an iPhone 14.

Why Apple has taken the decision to only upgrade the chip in its highest-end iPhones isn’t clear, but there are some possibilities. Cost could be a factor, with Apple potentially increasing the price difference between iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models with the delta between the two being larger than the previous iPhone 13 models.

(Image: iPhone 14 cases molds)

Another potential reason is a simple supply one, with Apple possibly in a position where manufacturing issues have caused it to struggle to produce enough A16 chips to go around.

Apple is set to announce a new iPhone lineup in or around September, so we still have a few months to go before we know for sure what Apple has planned.