If you’ve been keeping up with iPhone news, then you’ve surely heard the rumors that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max will use the same A15 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 13 line. That would be very unusual for Apple, but now we have an idea why that might be. happens.
According to Mark Gurman—a journalist and purveyor of good Apple information—in his Bloomberg newsletter (opens in a new tab), Apple is so focused on developing Mac chips that its iPhone chips have had to take a back seat .
Gurman points out that Apple has released five major types of Mac chips in the past 18 months, and claims that the company has at least four more planned for the next year or so.
Developing so many chipsets so quickly is a colossal amount of work, and Apple has obviously had to shift a lot of its development resources to these chipsets – which include the M1, M1 Ultra, M2 and more.
Gurman doesn’t directly say that this led to Apple using the A15 Bionic two years in a row, but he strongly suggests that this focus on the Mac is a big factor, as it simply doesn’t have enough resources to focus heavily on other chipsets as well .
Apple’s current focus would also explain why the company put the M1 chipset in the iPad Pro 2021 and iPad Air (2022), as it would mean one less chip to be developed, and why the company is reportedly using a similar chipset in the Apple Watch 8 as Apple Watch 7.
Gurman notes that this focus on the Mac is likely not the only problem, with reliance on other companies (notably TSMC) and rising costs caused by a global chipset shortage likely also being factors. But it seems likely that Apple’s renewed interest in the Mac is playing a role.
iPhone 13 Pro Max (Image credit: Future)
Analysis: Weird strategy, but not a big deal
This focus on the Mac is curious because while Apple’s PCs probably needed a boost in popularity, as Gurman points out, 60% of Apple’s revenue comes from devices that don’t run the M1 and M2 lines of chips that Apple currently relies on. focus. So ignoring these devices seems like an odd choice.
Gurman also suggested that Apple’s chip division is too spread out, with reports of employee burnout and higher-than-normal attrition, suggesting the company’s strategy may not be sustainable.
Still, it’s unlikely to be much of a problem for buyers — or Apple’s coffers — for now, as current iPhone and Apple Watch chipsets are already extremely powerful. In fact, there’s a good chance that last year’s A15 Bionic will still beat next year’s Android chipsets.
Plus, according to reports, Apple isn’t completely ignoring the iPhone — it’s believed to have a new A16 Bionic chipset in development (though one that may not be hugely more powerful than the A15 Bionic). But this is said to be coming only to iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
So to get a power upgrade, you might have to spend a lot and buy one of the best iPhones. And it looks like the iPhone isn’t the only upcoming Apple product without much-anticipated changes, as the Apple Watch 8 may also get limited upgrades.
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