A total of four iPhone 17 models will be a part of Apple’s grand keynote that is scheduled to take place on September 9, with the company also expected to announce two new chipsets that will be found in each device, the A19 and A19 Pro. Both of these SoCs have been reported to be mass produced on TSMC’s newest 3nm ‘N3P’ process, bringing small performance and efficiency improvements over the A18 and A18 Pro, which were fabricated on the previous-generation 3nm ‘N3E.’ Now, there is a ton of confusion on which iPhone 17 will be powered by which chipset, and to make your upgrade path less complicated, we have provided a breakdown of which handset will feature which silicon.
The base iPhone 17 may not ship with the A19 or the A19 Pro, while Apple’s remaining three models will reportedly be treated to the more powerful A-series SoC
The iPhone 17 launch will only be the second occasion for Apple to introduce a regular and a ‘Pro’ version of its top-end silicon family, with the first one made with the iPhone 16 launch last year. Unfortunately, those wanting to upgrade to the base model will be disappointed, because a previous report stated that it will not just be treated to the A18, but it will also miss out on that 12GB RAM upgrade expected to arrive for the remaining three models. Remember that Apple has two versions of the A18, with a binned variant sporting a 4-core GPU instead of a 5-core one running in the iPhone 16e, which delivers reduced graphics performance.
If we had to guess, the base iPhone 17 would either arrive with the 5-core GPU version of the A18, but if we are lucky, Apple could proceed to incorporate the A19, delivering slightly better compute performance too. As for the A19 Pro, which is the company’s top-tier silicon, it was obvious that this chipset would be found in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. With both of these devices rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber, the A19 Pro can offer better sustained performance when running intensive workloads such as games. As for the iPhone 17 Air, a huge surprise came from a previous report, stating that the ultra-sleek flagship will also be treated to the A19 Pro, but here is the catch.
Instead of a 6-core GPU belonging to the higher binned A19 Pro, the iPhone 17 Air would feature a 5-core GPU, bringing a graphics downgrade to the table, but with increased performance over the base iPhone 17. What puzzles us is how this new A-series SoC will maintain its temperatures when running taxing programs in a constrained chassis. It appears that we will have the answer to these burning questions during Apple’s September keynote. Before the event, we shall have more of these updates prepared, so that you are up to speed on what to expect from the iPhone 17 launch, so stay tuned.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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