With the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Google Pixel 8 series both having considerable AI talents, Apple has some catching up to do, but it appears that the iPhone 16 line may be able to match or outperform those phones in terms of AI capabilities.
According to Taiwanese website Economic Daily News (via 9to5Mac), the Neural Engine in the A18 chipset, which we expect the iPhone 16 line to use, will feature “significantly” more cores than the Neural Engine in the A17 Pro, which was used by the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.
The Neural Engine is a component of Apple’s chipsets that is specifically built to power AI and machine learning operations, making it a critical component of any major AI pushes Apple may undertake. As a result, it makes sense for Apple to increase the amount of cores accessible to the Neural Engine in its next smartphone chipset.
The website does not say how many cores the A18’s Neural Engine may have, but the A17 Pro has 16, so it may be more if this is correct. This would also be the first time Apple has increased the number of cores in its Neural Engine since the iPhone 12, perhaps marking the biggest substantial boost in the iPhone’s AI capabilities in a long time.
However, the core count isn’t everything; the A17 Pro’s Neural Engine is up to twice as fast as the A16 Bionic’s, while having the same number of cores. We’d take this leak with a grain of salt, but we fully expect the A18 to include much increased AI capabilities in some form or another.
A professional-only upgrade?
While other speculations say that every iPhone 16 model will include an A18 CPU, it’s worth noting that Apple has traditionally reserved its most advanced chipsets for Pro phones. We’ve also heard that some AI functions may only be available on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, implying that the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have a lower-end processor.
It’s unclear if it will be the A17 Pro, Apple’s current top smartphone processor, or a lower-end version of the A18, maybe with fewer Neural Engine cores.
At the very least, it appears like this year’s Pro models will feature technology capable of matching Samsung and Google’s AI skills. It’s unclear whether it will also have software and features. We should find out in September, which is when the iPhone 16 range is expected to arrive.
