An alleged image of the iPhone 18 Pro motherboard has leaked online, showing the A20 Pro chip will use a new packaging technology that should offer notable performance gains over the previous model.
The leaked image, which has been shared by the accounts "WHYLAB" and "Ice Universe" on Weibo, appears to show the A20 Pro chip integrated into TSMC's new packaging architecture, known as Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) technology.
Traditionally, Apple has used package-on-package (PoP) designs, where the DRAM sits directly on top of the application processor. The advantages of this method are lower power consumption and reduced latency, but it also makes heat concentrated in the packaging area.
In the leaked WMCM implementation, by contrast, the DRAM has been moved to the side of the package, which should reduce thermal coupling between the processor and DRAM while improving heat dissipation during sustained workloads. Apple's design is also said to be equipped with LPDDR6 memory with a 96-bit memory bus, which should provide more energy-efficient bandwidth.
The chip size is said to be roughly the same as the A19 Pro, but the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) appears to be significantly larger, suggesting that Apple is also aiming to improve AI performance.
The leaked image has not been confirmed as authentic, but the WMCM technology has been repeatedly rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Powered by the A20 Pro chip, the foldable iPhone and iPhone 18 Pro models are also expected to use TSMC's new 2nm process, also known as N2, boasting performance improvements that could be up to 15 percent faster and 30 percent more efficient than A19 chips.
In addition, N2 introduces new super-high-performance metal-insulator-metal (SHPMIM) capacitors into the chip's power delivery system. These capacitors more than double the capacitance density of the previous generation. Together with the adoption of WMCM, the changes should boost performance globally and improve power stability and energy efficiency.
The Pro and Fold models are expected to share 12GB of RAM, 48-megapixel rear cameras, and Apple's C2 modem. All three models are expected to be released in September this year.
