One of the more surprising iPhone 14 rumors has emerged again, so it’s looking more likely than ever that there will be some old silicon at the heart of the non-Pro iPhone 14s models.
The Wall Street Journal (opens in new tab) reports that there will be “an enhanced version of the current A15 processor” inside the regular iPhone 14 models, citing “people familiar with the plans.” While the iPhone 14 Pro is believed to be getting a new A16 Bionic chip, rumors have pointed to the standard iPhone 14 and new iPhone 14 Max (or iPhone 14 Plus) getting the same chip as the iPhone 13 series from last year.
This would be the first time Apple offered multiple chips across one series of new flagship iPhones, but the number and quality of the claims saying this makes it seem like a given. It would build on existing gaps between the Pro and non-Pro iPhones, such as camera hardware and display refresh rate, and also help keep the price down, since we’re expecting a $100 price bump for the Pro models over last year.
The WSJ report doesn’t tell us how it thinks the A15 will be enhanced for the iPhone 14. The most obvious option though would be that the chip will be the slightly higher performance version from the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, which offered one extra GPU core compared to the A15 used in the base iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini.
That also fits with the rumor that the iPhone 14 would get 6GB RAM like the iPhone 13 Pro models, rather than 4GB like the iPhone 13. Unfortunately, it also seems like the iPhone 14 will miss out on faster RAM, sticking with LPDDR4X RAM instead of the newer LPDDR5 standard that the iPhone 14 Pro is tipped to get.
The Apple event takes place tomorrow (September 7). We should know very soon whether this chip claim is true. We’ve also heard about a 48MP main camera, always-on display and new notch for the Pro models, and upgraded selfie cameras for all four versions.
Make sure you’re up to speed with all the leaks so far by checking out our iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro hubs.
