According to a new report, Apple will stop using its latest chips on lower-end iPhones going forward, and will reserve them for the Pro models insted.
According to a report by a reputed industry insider, Apple will stop using its latest chips in non-Pro iPhone models going forward. The report comes nearly four months after it was confirmed that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will ship with the A15 Bionic chipset from the iPhone 13 lineup, while the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will be powered by the new A16 SoC. The A16 chip will continue to based on TSMC’s 5nm process node, just like Apple’s A14 and A15 chipsets.
Apple will unveil the iPhone 14 line later this year as a follow-up to last year’s iPhone 13. According to reports, Apple will launch four models as part of its next-gen iPhone lineup, including the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The two premium models in the lineup will come with a new design language, faster hardware and newer features, while the more affordable duo will retain the iPhone 13’s design and some of its hardware.
In a new report, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has revealed that lower-end iPhones will not be powered Apple’s latest chips in the future. Instead, they will come with older processors, while the new SoCs will be reserved for the higher-end ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro Max’ models. Apple is reportedly hoping that the shift in strategy will help increase shipments of the Pro iPhones which offer higher margins than the vanilla models.
iPhone Pro Models Could See Higher Demand
According to Kuo, the move is likely to increase iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max shipments to 55-60 percent of total iPhone sales in the second half of the year, as opposed to the usual 40-50 percent. The increased sales of the high-end iPhone models would also benefit Apple’s premium camera component suppliers, such as Sony, Largan, Alps, and LG Innotek. According to earlier reports, the two Pro models are expected to ship with a 48-megapixel primary camera as an upgrade over the 12-megapixel sensor found in their predecessors.
It will be interesting to see if limiting the new chips to the Pro models will have the effect that Apple is hoping for. Either way, the next-gen chip, upgraded cameras and the new-age notch-less design will certainly make the Pro iPhones more attractive than the non-Pro models this year in more ways than one. Given all the changes the Pro models are likely to offer, it will be interesting to see what percentage of customers will be willing to pay the premium for the new features once the Apple iPhone 14 lineup hits the market.
Source: Ming-Chi Kuo/Medium
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