The new iPhone 16 Pro series is powered by Apple’s latest A18 Pro chipset. Apple claims that the A18 Pro is the world’s most powerful mobile chipset. That’s because it’s built on TSMC’s vastly improved N3E process node and features an updated CPU, but what new upgrades does it bring over its predecessor, the Apple A17 Pro? To find out, we compared the A17 Pro and A18 Pro chipsets, including their CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine performance.
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: Specs Comparison
| A17 Pro | A18 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Six-core processor (2+4) | Six-core processor (2+4) |
| Processor Cores | 2 performance cores at 3.78 GHz4 efficiency cores at 2.11 GHz | 2x performance cores4x efficiency cores15% faster processor |
| Process technology | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3B) | TSMC’s 3nm process (N3E) |
| GPU | Apple 6-core GPU Hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing | Apple 6-core GPU20% faster GPU2x faster hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| Memory Support | LPDDR5, up to 6400 MT/s | LPDDR5, up to 7,500 MT/s17% faster memory |
| Machine Learning and AI | 16-core Neural Engine; 35 TOPS | 16-core Neural Engine; 35 TOPS |
| Modem | Snapdragon X70 5G ModemUp to 10 Gbps peak download speedUp to 3.5 Gbps peak upload speed | Snapdragon X75 5G modem (likely)Up to 10 Gbps peak download speedUp to 3.5 Gbps peak upload speed |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 |
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: Processor
Starting with the processor, the Apple A18 Pro is built on TSMC’s 2nd generation 3nm process nodewhich is TSMC’s N3E. The A18 Pro packs six CPU cores, including two performance cores that can reach an unprecedented 4.05GHz, a first for a mobile chipset. And the chipset also includes 4 efficiency cores that are likely clocked at up to 2.20GHz.
Image courtesy of Apple
The most interesting aspect of the A18 Pro is that Apple has adopted the Armv9.2 architecture with this chipset. While it doesn’t support SVE (Scalable Vector Extensions) for compute-intensive workloads, the A18 Pro integrates two SME (Scalable Matrix Extension) units for faster performance in AI/ML workloads. Apple calls these ML accelerators.
As for last year’s A17 Pro, it was built on TSMC’s 1st generation 3nm process node (N3B) with the same six-core CPU configuration. The 2 performance cores can reach up to 3.78GHz and the 4 efficiency cores can boost the frequency up to 2.11GHz.
Overall, Apple claims that the A18 Pro processor is 15% faster than the A17 Pro processor. Additionally, the A18 Pro processor uses 20% less power than the A17 Pro processor.
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: GPU
By moving to the GPU, Apple did not substantial changes This year, the GPU microarchitecture has been improved. The 6-core GPU of the Apple A18 Pro is almost the same as last year, except for the GPU frequency which has been increased. In addition, the faster LPDDR5 memory (7500 MT/s) which offers 17% faster memory speed helps the GPU achieve better graphics performance.
Image courtesy of Apple
Not to mention that the new aluminum internal frame and thermal substructure will allow the GPU to maintain peak performance for much longer. Overall, Apple claims that the A18 Pro’s 6-core GPU delivers 20% faster graphics performance compared to the 6-core A17 Pro GPU. Additionally, hardware-accelerated ray tracing is now 2x faster than the A17 Pro.
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: Neural Engine
Image courtesy of Apple
As for the Neural Engine, Apple claims that the 16-core Neural Engine in the A18 Pro and A17 Pro can deliver up to 35 TOPS (trillion operations per second). There appears to be no change to the Neural Engine on the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. However, with 17% faster memory, the Neural Engine can deliver faster performance in AI/ML tasks. The new Neural Engine in the A18 Pro is powerful enough to deliver Apple Intelligence capabilities locally, on the device.
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: connectivity
Finally, on the connectivity side, Apple will likely use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X75 5G modem on the Apple A18 Pro. Last year’s A17 Pro included the Snapdragon X70 5G modem, the same modem found in the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.
The maximum download/upload speed is the same for both modems, however, the X75 modem promises better coverage and efficiency. For local connectivity, the Apple A18 Pro is equipped with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3The A17 Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
A17 Pro vs A18 Pro: Final Thoughts
To sum up, the latest A18 Pro chipset offers significant improvements over the year-old A17 Pro in both the CPU and GPU departments. With the adoption of Armv9.2 architecture and the addition of SME units in the CPU, the AI/ML performance is said to be much faster. More importantly, Apple has worked on improving the thermal performance by adding a thermal substructure that allows the CPU and GPU to maintain peak performance for a longer period of time.
So, overall, the iPhone 16 Pro series powered by the A18 Pro chipset proves to be a substantial upgrade as you get faster performance without compromising on efficiency. However, to come to a definitive conclusion, we need to run various benchmarks and measure the performance. Stay tuned for upcoming updates!
