The iPhone 15 Pro this year is going to be power by the raw A17 system - on - chip shot , which should be the first large - scale consumer chip in the macrocosm to be made on a 3 nm N3B manufacturing process . That means a lot more logical system and cache in the same sizing chip , and better power efficiency at the same performance level as current 5 nanometre iPhone chips . We bear big things from the A17 .
A newrumor from a Weibo userproclaiming to be an experient integrated circuits developer suggests that Apple is going to switch product of the A17 at some sentence next twelvemonth from TSMC ’s N3B process to the upcoming N3E process . The N5E physical process is estimate to have better toll butmaybe less efficient than N3B ( also known as just N3 , the initial “ baseline ” 3 micromillimeter process ) .
The accuracy of this soul can not be verified – they do n’t have a long story of accurate leaks , only really gaining hump by being the first to claim that the USB - C embrasure in iPhone 15 phones will use cables with Apple - supplied authentication french-fried potatoes ( like Lightning connection do ) to enable full functionality . That rumor has not yet been verify either , though it has been reported by other reference .
Regardless , this rumour makes sense – and if it ’s honest , it should n’t concern potential iPhone 15 buyers . Here ’s why .
First , N3B ( aka N3 ) is the baseline 3 nm node . It ’s expensive and has comparatively pitiful yields , and the entire provision ( or nearly so ) is being used by Apple . N3E is the newer , neat rendering of the 3 nm process made with six few EUV ( extreme ultraviolet ) layers and therefore much less expensive to manufacture .
Is N3E less efficient ? Yes and no . Anandtech has a estimable breakdownof these initial 3 micromillimeter process technologies from TSMC ’s public revealing . Essentially , the Modern N3E physical process will bosom a little less logical system or stash into the same area as N3 , but it is expected to actually use a little bitlesspower and support somewhat higher clock speeds . In other Scripture , according to TSMC ’s revelation , N3E is ever - so - more or less less effective in one metrical ( density ) and just a touch more efficient in others ( power , clock speeds ) .
What does this all mean for the iPhone 15 Pro or future iPhone 16 ? Not much . If Apple starts make A17 chips on this new N3E node next twelvemonth , it ’s not going to be very different from the early A17 chips made on the N3 ( N3B ) node . It might have to be a flyspeck bit larger and it might use the slightest bit less power , but your experience using the ruined product is n’t going to differ . We might not even make out when or if Apple changes mental process .
The execution of your iPhone comes down to so many factors , including the RAM technology , storage performance , wireless networking , and of track package . Battery spirit is heavily affected by the display , wireless radios , RAM , and more . If some new - version A17 next year is just a few percent different from the initial version – and that ’s a very big “ if”–you’ll never even notice .
