iPhone 17 May Reuse Old Chip — Smart Strategy or Letdown for Buyers?

Apple’s next iPhone series is expected to have several hardware upgrades, including a new chip that rumours suggest will offer faster performance, better power efficiency, and support expanded AI capabilities. While the iPhone Pro models may come with an A19 Pro chip, the standard iPhone 17 models were previously said to use an A19 chip. However, a new leak refutes that, saying that Apple might go ahead with last year’s A18 chip on the iPhone 17.

In a research note, Apple analyst Jeff Pu has said the iPhone 17 may use the same TSMC’s 3nm process-based A18 chip that the iPhone 16 packs. While that could disappoint buyers waiting for the iPhone 17 as it may finally address the pain points in Apple’s standard models, the A18 chip will reportedly have no enhancements. That means it will perform similarly to the iPhone 16 despite being a generation ahead.

Smart strategy?

Apple has repackaged older chips in new standard iPhone models for the past few years as part of a business strategy that allows it to offer a consistent iPhone experience at no additional cost. This strategy has also worked for Apple in the past, with the company succeeding in convincing customers that the Pro models are where the top-end performance is. Customers get the flagship smartphone experience, aided by Apple’s polished iOS software.

A letdown?

With Apple Intelligence, Apple’s chip repackaging strategy may not work for long. Apple’s AI service is expected to receive more features that an old chip may not support as well as a new chip. Sure, Apple knows what it is doing when it decides to use a one-year-old chip on a new iPhone, but in the long run, customers begin to feel the chip ageing. Just imagine this situation with the kind of AI services emerging by the day. Apple must optimise the A18 chip for such demands in future, if nothing more.

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