Apple's new A18 Pro chip will support artificial intelligence capabilities in the iPhone 16 Pro lineup

Haitong International Tech Research analyst Jeff Pu wrote a note to Haitong clients that has made its way to 9to5Mac. The note says that Apple is planning changes to the A18 Pro chip, specifically for artificial intelligence on the iPhone 16 Pro line of devices. Poo also writes that Apple is starting production of the A18 Pro chip earlier than usual.

Here's What We Know

AI computing on a device, in turn, refers to artificial intelligence that is processed directly on the device rather than in the cloud. Apple is believed to be taking a split approach to its AI features this year, relying on cloud infrastructure (possibly in partnership with Google) for some functions, while other functions run entirely on the device.

Additionally, that the A18 Pro is made using TSMC's second-generation 3nm node (N3E). Poo notes that the larger chip area means that more transistors or specialised components can be placed on the chip, which could allow the iPhone 16 Pro lineup to offer some interesting AI capabilities on the device.

A report last month suggests that the A18 will "significantly increase the number of on-chip AI compute cores" with a more powerful Neural Engine.

Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are expected to feature a version of the A18 chip later this year. Currently, the iPhone 15 uses the A16 chip, while the iPhone 15 Pro uses the A17 Pro chip. A report from Jeff Pu today seems to suggest that only the A18 Pro, destined for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, will have AI-focused changes.

Source: 9to5Mac