A16 Chip in iPhone 14 Pro Reportedly Costs Apple Over Twice as Much as A15 Chip

Apple's new A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max costs $110 to produce, making it over 2.4× as costly as the A15 chip in iPhone 13 Pro models released last year, according to a Nikkei Asia report.

A16 iPhone 14 Pro
The A16's higher cost is likely due in part to the chip being manufactured based on TSMC's 4nm process, while the A15 is a 5nm chip. iPhone chips could continue to increase in price as miniaturization continues, with rumors suggesting the A17 chip in iPhone 15 Pro models will be based on TSMC's 3nm process, and a DigiTimes report this week claiming that TSMC will begin volume production of 2nm chips in 2025.

Geekbench 5 benchmark results indicate the A16 chip delivers around 15% to 17% faster multi-core performance compared to the A15 chip. Only the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are equipped with the A16 chip, while the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have the same A15 chip with a five-core GPU as found in iPhone 13 Pro models.

In collaboration with Fomalhaut Techno Solutions, a Japanese research firm specialized in reverse engineering and bill-of-materials analysis, Nikkei found that average production costs have increased about 20% across the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max compared to the equivalent previous-generation models.

The report claims that given Apple did not raise prices for its latest iPhone models in the U.S. and some other markets, the higher production costs mean that the company's profit margins have "likely shrunk," but prices did increase in key markets like the U.K., Australia, and Japan amid a strong U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.

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Top Rated Comments

1557750 Avatar
39 months ago
And people complain about them using last years chips in base model 14’s this year.

I hope this trend continues. Chips cost more, so Pro should get them because they cost more.

Bring on the hate. ???
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
magicschoolbus Avatar
39 months ago
It’s a great chip. The 14 Pro Max is blazing fast compared to my 11 Pro Max. I can’t believe how quick it is.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
39 months ago
Waiting on Google to take this as a compliment.

Geez, What is in the water cooler at that company?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
39 months ago

I can't see that the phone needs a faster chip. My guess is the only reason for using the new chip is the energy saving.
The iPhone is going to need as much processing power as they can fit into it because it'll be running the AR glasses and that kind of superimposition of graphics on real world objects is processor intensive.

The march towards miniaturized processing power, equivalent to what we've seen in full blown computers, and power efficiency while achieving it, is all in service of wearable tech on our wrists and soon, in glasses.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JW Pepper Avatar
39 months ago
I can't see that the phone needs a faster chip. My guess is the only reason for using the new chip is the energy saving.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
39 months ago
The performance of the Pro/Pro Max models speaks for itself. It's worth it!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)