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.
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.
Popular Stories
An updated Lock Screen interface in iOS 17 will turn the iPhone into a "smart-home display," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. When not in use and positioned in a horizontal orientation, the iPhone will show information that includes calendar appointments, weather data, notifications, and more, allowing it to serve as a home data hub.
With the iPhone attached to a MagSafe charging stand...
Apple's upcoming iOS 17 update for the iPhone will include improvements across several apps and features, including Wallet, Find My, SharePlay, and AirPlay, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is expected to preview iOS 17 during its WWDC keynote on June 5, and the update should be released to all users in September.
In a report today, Gurman said the Wallet app in particular will...
Apple today announced the schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 5 through June 9. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on June 5 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with the company expected to announce iOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, its long-awaited AR/VR headset, a 15-inch MacBook Air, and more.
Apple's keynote will be followed by the Platforms State ...
The iOS 17 update that Apple plans to announce in June will include a dedicated journaling app, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The Wall Street Journal in April highlighted Apple's work on a Day One-style journaling app, but at the time, it was not clear if it would come in iOS 17.
According to Gurman, the app is indeed slated for inclusion in iOS 17, and it will introduce "note taking and...
Apple's "My Photo Stream" service is set to shut down on July 26, 2023, which means customers who are still using that feature will need to transition to using iCloud Photos prior to that date.
My Photo Stream is a free service that uploads the last 30 days of images (up to 1,000) to iCloud, making them accessible on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. It predates iCloud Photos and...
Apple today added refurbished M2 Mac mini models to its online store in the United States, offering the latest 2023 version of the desktop machine at a discounted price for the first time.
Refurbished M2 Mac mini models are priced starting at $509 for the version with an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. That's a $90 discount off of the original $599 price tag for that...
OpenAI this week announced that its official ChatGPT app for the iPhone and the iPad is now available in more than 40 countries in addition to the United States. The app first launched in the United States last week, and OpenAI promised that it would expand to more countries in the coming weeks.
As of today, the app can be used in Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil,...
Following around seven weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.5 was released to the public last week. The software update is a minor one, but includes a few new features and changes for the iPhone. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Below, we have recapped new features and changes in iOS 16.5,...
Top Rated Comments
I hope this trend continues. Chips cost more, so Pro should get them because they cost more.
Bring on the hate. ???
Geez, What is in the water cooler at that company?
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.