The iPhone 16’s A18 chipset could help Apple beat the Samsung Galaxy S24’s AI
More cores for the Neural Engine
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
With theSamsung Galaxy S24line and theGoogle Pixel 8series both boasting serious AI skills,Applehas some catching up to do, but it sounds like theiPhone 16line might be equipped to match or beat those phones when it comes to AI capabilities.
According to Taiwanese siteEconomic Daily News(via9to5Mac), the Neural Engine in the A18 chipset that we’re expecting the iPhone 16 line to use will have “significantly” more cores than the Neural Engine in the A17 Pro used by theiPhone 15 Proand theiPhone 15 Pro Max.
The Neural Engine is a part of Apple’s chipsets that’s designed specifically to power AI and machine learning tasks, so it’s a key component of any big AI pushes Apple might make. As such, it would make sense for Apple to boost the number of cores available to the Neural Engine in its next smartphone chipset.
The site doesn’t say how many cores the A18’s Neural Engine might have, but the A17 Pro has 16, so it would be more than that anyway if this is correct. This would also be the first time Apple has increased the number of cores in its Neural Engine since the iPhone 12, so this could be the biggest jump we’ve seen in the iPhone’s AI capabilities in quite a while.
That said, the core count isn’t everything, as the A17 Pro’s Neural Engine is up to twice as fast as the A16 Bionic’s, despite featuring the same number of cores. We’d take this leak with a pinch of salt anyway, but we fully expect the A18 to offer significantly improved AI capabilities one way or another.
A Pro-only upgrade?
However, while some reports suggest thatevery iPhone 16 model will have an A18 chipset, it’s worth noting that in recent years Apple has reserved its newest chipsets for the Pro phones. We’ve also heard thatsome AI features might be exclusive to the iPhone 16 ProandiPhone 16 Pro Max, which could mean the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have a lesser chipset.
Whether that would be the A17 Pro that’s Apple’s current top smartphone chipset, or a lesser version of the A18 – perhaps one that doesn’t have as many Neural Engine cores – remains to be seen.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
At the very least though it’s sounding increasingly likely that this year’s Pro models will have the hardware to matchSamsungandGoogle’s AI abilities. Whether it will also have the software and features is less clear. We should find out in September, as that’s when the iPhone 16 line is likely to land.
You might also like
James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
A newly reported iPhone phenomenon could be bad news for both cops and robbers
The iPhone 18 series could include a variable aperture, ‘significantly enhancing’ the camera
Your next smartwatch could be battery-free – and powered by your skin
