Apple is expected to launch its next-generation smartphones next month, with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra reportedly set to debut first. The standard iPhone 18 model could arrive early next year. The three flagship smartphones are expected to be powered by Apple’s A20 Pro chipset.
According to a tipster citing supply chain sources, Apple’s unreleased A20 Pro chipset could be the first mobile SoC to be fabricated using TSMC’s 2nm process. The tipster ‘Fixed-focus digital cameras’, translated from Chinese, shared the information in a Weibo post.
The A20 Pro is expected to power the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Ultra, which is reportedly Apple’s first book-style foldable smartphone. Apple has yet to confirm these details.
The A20 Pro is tipped to offer a significant performance improvement over the A19 Pro chipset used in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
According to the tipster, the new chipset could deliver an 18 percent performance improvement while reducing power consumption by about 30 percent. The efficiency gains could help improve performance without a corresponding increase in power consumption.
However, the shift to the new manufacturing process is reportedly expected to increase Apple’s procurement costs ‘significantly’.
While the A20 Pro may cost Apple more, the company could offset some of these manufacturing costs elsewhere. A recent report said Apple has renegotiated deals with LG and Samsung for OLED panels for the iPhone 18 Pro series.
Apple is expected to pay the two suppliers about $68 (roughly Rs. 6,500) for each OLED panel. This is reportedly notably lower than what the company paid for the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s OLED panel.
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The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to debut early next month and are reportedly set to be Apple’s most expensive non-folding smartphones yet. Apple’s CEO has already hinted at an ‘unavoidable’ price hike, which is said to affect both old and new iPhone models.
More details about the iPhone 18 Pro series are expected to emerge in the coming weeks.