5 months ago
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As we’re breezing through spring, the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple is preparing for one of its biggest launch events, which will be held this fall. The event will not only unveil the iPhone 16 but also introduce the world to the first iOS version equipped with AI-based features – iOS 18. While we’ve already covered a good deal about the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, a new report suggests that only the latter will receive the revolutionary AI abilities. Without any further ado, let’s dive right into it.
A18 Pro Will Power On-Device AI Computation
As mentioned in an investor note by Jeff Pu (seen by 9To5Mac), the demand for Apple’s A18 chip is rising, while the market for the A17 Pro chip (powering the iPhone 15 Pro lineup) has stabilized since February 2024. The analyst adds that Apple’s A18 Pro, the one with a six-core GPU, will feature a larger die area than its predecessor, “which could be a trend for edge AI computing.” For those catching up, increasing the die area allows a chip to house more transistors, resulting in improved performance. So, this part of the statement indicates that the processor will be more capable than the A17 Pro, most likely with an improved NPU.
However, Edge AI computing refers to the AI-related features that work offline, i.e., on-device. Combining the two statements, it looks like the A18 Pro chipset will be able to handle several features off the cloud. Nonetheless, the chipset will only be available in the Pro variants, so what about the regular iPhone 16? For years, Apple has maintained a solid differentiation between the regular and the Pro iPhone models, and there’s a good chance that it could limit some of the AI-based features on the Pro models.
iPhone 16 Was Also Reported To Feature An Improved Neural Engine
In February 2024, a report from Economic Daily News suggested that Apple’s A18 family of processors will come with an increased number of built-in AI computing cores. Of course, the AI computing cores refer to the Neural Engine that iPhones have featured for a long time. However, since the latest report doesn’t corroborate the previous one, it is tough to say whether all the AI-based features will be limited to the iPhone 16 Pro series. Yes, it makes sense for the company to keep some features for the higher-end variant, but the iPhone 16 lineup, like the regular Galaxy S24, should also get a couple of features to entice customers to upgrade from their current models.
Apple Is Aiming To Release A Foldable By 2027
According to a report by Korea’s Alpha Biz (via Digitimes), Apple is expecting to launch foldables by the first half of 2027. The report mentions that the company is struggling with the crease at the center of the foldable screen. However, that is the extent of the information. It is unclear what type of foldable the company is working on.
To speed up foldables’ development, Apple has reshuffled its internal teams, bringing some people over from the Vision Pro team to the foldable team.
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