Apple’s upcoming 2024 iPhone, iPhone 16, is rumored to be coming with 8GB of memory and an A17 Bionic CPU, according to notable analyst and leaker Jeff Pu.
In a report to investors, as seen by MacRumors, Jeff Pu notes that iPhone 16 is expected to launch with an A17 Bionic CPU and 8GB of RAM. Apple updates the chip powering iPhone pretty regularly with new releases, but the standard iPhone has come with just 6GB of memory since 2021’s iPhone 13. Apple’s recently unveiled iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are rumored to have 8GB of RAM, which would be a first, but there isn’t confirmation just yet.
The investor report also alleges that we’ll also see an A18 chip powering iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which would make sense if we see the A17 inside the standard iPhone 16. Reportedly, the A17 is going to be fabricated using TSMC’s N3B node, while Apple is expected to switch over to the N3E node in 2024 when the A17 comes to the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.
N3B is TSMC’s original 3nm node that was built in partnership with Apple, while N3E is a more all-purpose node that’s expected to have other clients outside of Apple. The switch between the two nodes would likely happen because the N3E node can result in better performance alongside, importantly, better yield than the N3B node. It is expected that if the switch does happen it will necessitate some design changes in Apple’s chips going forward.
Apple’s A17 Bionic chip is expected to be the company’s first 3nm chip. It was previously reported that the company had originally planned to use the 3nm N3B node for the A16 Bionic but it wasn’t ready in time. As you might expect, further 3nm chips are likely coming from Apple, and these may well end up being the products of the N3E node. However, this is all currently just rumored, so make sure to take it with a grain of salt before official confirmation.
