Apple simply launched the iPhone 15 Professional sequence, and whereas the largest speaking level is the swap to USB-C charging in lieu of the Lightning port, the {hardware} that is powering the gadgets is simply as groundbreaking. The iPhone 15 Professional and 15 Professional Max fashions function the A17 Professional, a brand-new platform that is constructed on the 3nm node.
What instantly stands out is the change in naming, with the A17 eschewing the usual Bionic naming conference of its predecessors. There are a number of causes for this, however the truth that it is constructed on a brand new manufacturing node is a key contributor. The iPhone 14 Pro‘s A16 Bionic used a 4nm node, and switching to 3nm gives sizeable features in effectivity and efficiency.
Now, Android chip distributors like Qualcomm and MediaTek had been capable of sustain with Apple by way of the manufacturing node — the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leverages the identical 4nm tech because the A16 Bionic — however that will not be the case subsequent yr’s best Android phones. Apple is claimed to have an unique contract with TSMC — the foundry the place the A17 Professional is definitely manufactured — over its 3nm node, and in consequence, all different cellular chip distributors must use the present 4nm node.
Apple has a novel relationship with Taiwan-based TSMC; it has used the foundry to fabricate its chipsets for practically a decade now, and it accounts for 23% of TSMC’s general revenues, greater than another model. TSMC, in the meantime, stands to learn from the big orders that inevitably come its means, with the foundry estimated to provide 85 million chipsets only for the iPhone 15 Professional and Professional Max this yr.
In reality, TSMC values its partnership with Apple to such an extent that it’s allegedly writing off the cost of defective silicon. When a foundry begins mass producing on a brand new node, yields are decrease than standard — 70 to 80% versus 99% for a longtime node — and these prices are handed on on to the distributors, who pay for the complete wafer, no matter whether or not a couple of dies on that wafer are faulty. With the 3nm node, TSMC is not charging Apple for any faulty silicon, and that undoubtedly has important value financial savings for the iPhone producer.
Whereas Apple and TSMC have not publicly mentioned something about an unique association, there are sufficient hints that it’s the case. MediaTek introduced earlier within the month that it designed its first cellular SoC primarily based on TSMC’s 3nm node, nevertheless it will not go into mass manufacturing till the second half of 2024. Equally, Qualcomm is slated to modify to 3nm in 2025, with subsequent yr’s Snapdragon platform utilizing the identical 4nm node.
The A16 Bionic was already one of many quickest cellular chipsets out there — notably at single-core workloads — and with the transfer to 3nm, the A17 Professional extends that lead significantly. Apple touted a ten% improve in efficiency over the A16 Bionic, together with important features in the case of effectivity. One other space the place there is a noticeable uptick is the GPU, which has a notable efficiency improve of 20% over final yr. The brand new 16-core neural engine is 2x sooner, and the A17 Professional has a devoted AV1 decoder.
Mix all of that and unique entry to the next-gen 3nm node, and the iPhone 15 Professional and 15 Professional Max are just about unchallenged on the {hardware} entrance.
With USB-C charging and brand-new silicon that is among the many quickest of any cellphone at present, the iPhone 15 Professional contains the upgrades you care about.