In 2023, Apple introduced notable differences between models in its iPhone lineup. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus did not in fact feature the same chip as the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max (A16, versus A17 Pro); As for the Pro Max version, it was the only one to feature the tetraprism lens, allowing it to offer a 5x optical zoom. Good news, everything would be back to normal in 2024 with the iPhone 16.
An iPhone 16 range on the same wavelength
In a first article published on Wednesday, December 20, MacRumors revealed information unearthed by digging into the first versions of iOS 18.
According to media sources, this new major iPhone update, known by the code name “Crystal” internally, would mention four new models: the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
More interesting, we find the mention t8140 or even Tahiti, code names for the A18 chip internally. Unlike the current generation, which includes the A16 chip on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus and the A17 Pro on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, the A18 would be present on all iPhone 16s.
Apple would still consider differentiating the A18 chips from the standard and Pro models, “for example using the names A18 and A18 Pro”. We can therefore expect the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max to be significantly more powerful than the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.
This was particularly the case with the A15 chips of the iPhone 14: on the standard models, we were entitled to 7nm engraving and four GPU cores, compared to 5nm and six cores on the Pros. The iPhone 13 / 13 Mini and 13 Pro / 13 Pro Max displayed the same differentiation in terms of the number of GPU cores.
The A18 chip was also at the center of previous rumors, which mentioned a new 3 nm (N3E) engraving process delivering a significant gain in terms of performance and energy efficiency.
An identical photo part between the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max
In another paper published this Wednesday, MacRumors discusses the photo part of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The media more precisely corroborates a previous paper by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who announced the introduction of the same telephoto lens on the Pro and Pro Max models in 2024. The periscopic lens with tetraprism lens exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max would thus make its appearance on the iPhone 16 Pro. As a result, the two Pro versions of next year would be entitled to a x5 optical zoom without loss of quality.
MacRumors points out that this development is made possible by the change in format of the iPhone 16 compared to the iPhone 15. Indeed, several reports predict that the screen would go from 6.1 to 6.3 inches for the standard and Pro models, and from 6.7 to 6.9 inches for the Plus and Pro Max versions.