When launching a new product, Apple often spends time talking about how much faster it is than previous models, and how well it has an edge over the competition.Claims like “Macbook Air is faster than 98% of PC laptops” grabbed the headlines, regardless of whether they were accurate or not. It’s an effective marketing method, but one that Apple may choose to avoid when it launches the next MacBook Air and iPhone 14.
If recent reports are accurate, the iPhone 14 Pro’s A16 chip will use the same manufacturing process as the A15 Bionic in iPhone 13. Well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a tweet that the Cupertino tech company will stick with TSMC’s N5P process for the A16. This comes after leaker ShrimpApplePro, citing “fairly credible sources,“It is claimed that the A16 will be based on TSMC’s 5nm process. Smaller enhancements will come via LPDDR5 RAM and a more powerful GPU.
Kuo said TSMC will release significantly improved N3 and N4P manufacturing processes, But not until 2023. So Apple could choose to keep the 5-nanometer N5P (used to make the A15 Bionic chip in the iPhone 13 and iPad mini) or switch to the N4. Kuo believes that N4 does not offer any meaningful advantages, Therefore, Apple might as well continue to use N5P, resulting in limited “A16’s improvement in performance and power saving”. Although this isn’t a true next-gen processor, Apple can still count up to 16 for “marketing purposes.” Other recent reports say the standard iPhone 14 will stick with the A15, while only the Pro models will get the A16.
The next-generation MacBook Air will likely encounter similar limitations caused by the same bottlenecks. Apple may not upgrade to an M2 processor, opting instead to stick with the M1 on the MacBook Air, and then Instead, focus on the rumored redesignThis should involve new Color options.Guo Indicates that while there’s no harm in naming minor updates “M2”, Apple would be wise to reserve this name for more important releases, such as When the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 arrive next year. ShrimpApplePro believes that the M2 processor will be based on the 3nm process, skipping 4nm entirely.
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Anyway, I agree with Guo. Apple’s M1 series of chips are off to a good start, but the company wants to have strong expectations for its upcoming custom processors. While the gap is closing, the M1 chip is still far more powerful than its rivals from AMD and Intel. As Kuo said, the investment in the MacBook Air’s long-awaited redesign will outweigh any performance gains. Apple could always do a soft update to the MacBook Air next year when a proper M2 comes along after the Pro model is released.
How important this is depends on how you use your smartphone or laptop. The iPhone 14 is already the fastest phone on the market, Most customers aren’t even close to scraping the power cap on it. We’re still a few months away from Apple showing off its next flagship smartphone series. If it doesn’t give us faster performance, let’s hope the tech giant offers other reasons to upgrade.
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