Apple iPhone 15 Rumors: A17 Chip to Focus On Battery-life Improvements

Andi C., Tech Times 29 December 2022, 10:12 am

Apple's highly-anticipated iPhone 15 series sporting the A17 chip could lead to the battery improvement users have been waiting for.

According to 9to5Mac, semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC will hold a ceremony to officially launch the company's new 3nm chip into mass production. This 3nm process is anticipated to be used by Apple for the A17 processor in the iPhone 15 Pro and maybe for the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips this year.

TSMC has been in the lead in using ever-smaller processes in the chip manufacturing sector. The company's new 3nm technology, which began mass production a few days ago, is anticipated to be used in both the iPhone 15 of next year and Macs running a new M2 Pro chip.

However, what does using the A17 processor chip mean for the iPhone 15?

A17 Processor Chip to Prioritize Battery-life Improvements

The A17 processor, which is anticipated to power the iPhone 15, may prioritize battery life enhancements over computing capability. When addressing the 3nm process that will be utilized for the iPhone 15, Apple chipmaker TSMC emphasized power efficiency over performance.

Moving to 3nm is a significant step. Although TSMC identifies the N4 technology utilized for the processor as an upgraded version of 5nm, Apple refers to the A16 chip powering the iPhone 14 Pro models as a 4nm chip. This means that TSMC will effectively be moving directly from 5nm to 3nm.

More power can fit into a chip of the same size with each new process generation. Performance and power consumption are typically trade-offs, but Apple's chip designs attempt to offer the best of both worlds by combining performance and efficiency cores.

A clue as to what to anticipate from 3nm chip-powered devices might be found in the provision of an amazing stat for power efficiency improvements while making far less direct references to performance increases.

Apple iPhone 15 Rumors: What We Know So Far

While not many details have been revealed on the upcoming iPhone 15 series, Pocket-Lint reports the OLED display on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro measures 6.1 inches, while the OLED display on the iPhone 14 Pro Max measures 6.7 inches. For the Apple iPhone 15 Pro models, it is expected that Apple will remain with OLED, and it is also likely that Dynamic Island and the Always-On Display features will return.

Since the A16 processor powers the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, the A17 processor is probably what the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will use. Additionally, the iPhone 15 Pro versions will switch from Lightning to USB-C. If this does occur, it is anticipated that this will be the USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3 standard.

As with the iPhone 14 Pro models, MacRumors reports that aside from some new features introduced. The iPhone 15 Pro versions will likely include a Sony sensor. The sensor can double the saturation signal level in each pixel, enabling it to collect more light while still assuring the right exposure under various conditions.