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Latest Code Leak Suggests Entire iPhone 16 Lineup Getting A18 Chips

Using a more powerful chip across the board makes sense given the upcoming launch of Apple Intelligence.

 & Emily Price Weekend Reporter

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Apple's entire iPhone 16 lineup may sport next-gen A18 chips, MacRumors reports.

The iPhone 15 series uses different chips; the A17 Pro for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max and the A16 Bionic for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus. But according to back-end code found by Nicolás Alvarez, all iPhone 16 models will have the same A-series chip. (We heard similar rumors last fall.)

He points to internal identifiers that all start with the same number on the iPhone 16 devices whereas the iPhone 15 lineup had different identifiers for the Pro and standard models. Apple could, of course, launch different chip versions; an A18 for the standard and A18 Pro for the higher-end models, for example.

Notably, there are five "iPhone 16" models listed, but that could be a new iPhone SE, MacRumors suggests. Rumors there point to a thinner, sub-$500 iPhone SE for 2025.

In general, the iPhone 16 is expected to be a pretty boring hardware update. But giving the phones more powerful chips across the board makes sense given the upcoming launch of Apple Intelligence, which will require at least an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max to run.

About Our Expert

Emily Price

Emily Price

Weekend Reporter

Emily is a freelance writer based in Durham, NC. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Lifehacker, Popular Mechanics, Macworld, Engadget, Computerworld, and more. You can also snag a copy of her book Productivity Hacks: 500+ Easy Ways to Accomplish More at Work--That Actually Work! online through Simon & Schuster or wherever books are sold.

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