A microscopic change may give the iPhone 18 huge performance gains

By Bryan M. Wolfe Published October 15, 2024

iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium. — Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Apple is poised to make a significant change with the iPhone 18 when the series arrives in 2026. A reliable source on Weibo suggests that the tech giant will leverage TSMC’s cutting-edge 2-nanometer fabrication process for the A20 chip powering these devices. This advancement promises a significant boost in performance and efficiency.

Furthermore, the iPhone 18 series is rumored to be the first to feature 12GB of RAM across the board, which would be a substantial upgrade from the current 8GB RAM in the iPhone 16 lineup. This increase in memory capacity will enable smoother multitasking and enhanced performance for demanding applications.

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As MacRumors initially reported, Apple’s A20 chip will transition from the existing InFO (Integrated Fan-Out) packaging to the more sophisticated WMCM (Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module) packaging. This shift offers several key advantages:

Enhanced Integration: WMCM allows for the seamless integration of multiple chips within a package, enabling greater design flexibility.
Optimized Layout: Chips can be arranged vertically or side by side, maximizing space utilization and improving communication efficiency.
Improved Performance: This denser packaging technology facilitates faster data transfer and overall performance gains.

TSMC says volume production on its 2nm process will begin in 2025.

While the iPhone 16 series features 8GB of RAM, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the iPhone 17 Pro models will leap to 12GB in 2025. Based on today’s news, Apple intends to standardize this higher memory capacity across the entire iPhone 18 series.

Next year’s iPhone 17 lineup is expected to include an iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the all-new “iPhone 17 Air.” A similar smartphone lineup should arrive a year later that features the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Air, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

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Mobile and A/V Freelancer

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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