According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, only the iPhone 14 Pro models will have the “A16″ chip, while the standard iPhone 14 models will retain the A15 Bionic chip from the iPhone 13.
According to Kuo, the 6.1-inch ” iPhone 14 Pro ” and 6.7-inch ” iPhone 14 Pro Max ” will get the A16 chip, while the 6.1-inch ” iPhone 14 ” and 6.7-inch ” iPhone 14 Max ” will keep the A15 chip from the iPhone 13 lineup.
The two more affordable iPhone models that retain the same chip as last year could be a significant new point of differentiation between the standard and “Pro” iPhone models. Going forward, it appears possible that Apple will only offer a new chip with the “Pro” models, before rolling it out to the two cheaper iPhone models the following year.
Only two Pro models would upgrade to the A16 processor, while the 14 & 14 Max will remain the A15. All four new models will likely come with 6GB RAM, with the difference being LPDDR 5 (14 Pro & 14 Pro Max) vs. LPDDR 4X (14 & 14 Max).
Kuo also stated that all four iPhone 14 models will most likely have 6GB of memory, with the standard iPhone 14 models having LPDDR 4X memory and the iPhone 14 Pro models having LPDDR 5 memory.
The iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 currently have 4GB of memory, while the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have 6GB of memory. These prices have not changed since the iPhone 12 lineup. According to Kuo, all iPhone 14 models will have 6GB of RAM, but the LPDDR 5 memory in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be up to 1.5 times faster and 30% more power efficient.
Kuo’s claim contradicts a rumor from Haitong International Securities’ Jeff Pu, who claimed that the iPhone 14 Pro models will have 8GB of RAM, the same as the Samsung Galaxy S22 models. Having said that, Pu’s track record with Apple rumors is mixed. For example, he correctly predicted that 16-inch MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models with mini-LED displays would be available in 2021, but he was wrong about HomePods with 3D sensing cameras being available in 2019. This may call into question the 8GB RAM rumor now that Kuo, a more established Apple analyst with a better track record, is claiming otherwise.
