TL; DR
- According to Fixed Focus Digital’s Weibo account, the iPhone 17 Air will get a ‘Pro’ version of Apple’s next chip, likely the A19 Pro, but it won’t be the same as that on the iPhone 17 Pro or the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
- However, the processor might be the only similarity between the Pro models and the iPhone 17 Air. The tipster goes on to mention how the handset’s screen and battery won’t be as good as the more expensive Pro models.
- Elsewhere, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple will ship its first 2nm process-based chips with the iPhone 18 series, under the “A20” lineup.
We’re hardly a month away from the iPhone 17’s launch, but the rumor mill doesn’t want to take a rest. According to a recent piece of information, the iPhone 17 Air could get the same processor as the iPhone 17 Pro models (but with a slight tweak). We’ve also learnt how Apple could ship its first 2nm process-based chip with the iPhone 18 lineup.
Also Read: iPhone 17 Pro & iPhone 17 Pro Max Price: What To Expect?
iPhone 17 Air To Get The A19 Pro Chip, But There’s A Catch
According to Fixed Focus Digital’s Weibo account, the iPhone 17 Air will get a ‘Pro’ version of Apple’s next chip, likely the A19 Pro, but it won’t be the same as that on the iPhone 17 Pro or the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The tipster mentions that the iPhone 17 Air’s A19 Pro chip will share all of its “configurations” with the Pro variant, except the number of GPU cores, i.e., it will have one less GPU core. In other words, the Air will get a toned-down or binned version of the A19 Pro with five-GPU cores as opposed to six-GPU cores on the Pro models.
This wouldn’t be the first time, though, that we’d see Apple do this. I distinctly remember (because it used to create a lot of confusion) that the iPhone 13 featured the A15 Bionic chip with a four-core GPU, whereas the iPhone 13 Pro featured the same chip, but with an additional GPU core.
However, the processor might be the only similarity between the Pro models and the iPhone 17 Air. The tipster goes on to mention how the handset’s screen and battery won’t be as good as the more expensive Pro models.
In my opinion, that makes perfect sense; otherwise, the iPhone 17 Air will end up being the iPhone 17 Pro without a telephoto camera (and that doesn’t qualify as a stark difference).
I’ve mentioned this in my iPhone 17 Air roundup; how the smartphone is said to get a single rear-facing camera and a thin yet high-density battery.
The First Apple iPhone With A 2nm Chip To Ship In 2026
Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple will ship its first 2nm process-based chips with the iPhone 18 series, under the “A20” lineup.
Whether the company comes up with one or two 2nm chips, both of them should use the new Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) packaging technology, which decreases the distance between different components of the chip (such as the CPU and the memory) and increases the chip’s overall efficiency.
Further, Apple’s manufacturing partner (likely TSMC) should be able to accommodate more transistors in the same chip size, which should lead to a dramatic increase in processing power.
Also Read: It Won’t Be Until 2026 That Apple Adopts TSMC’s 2nm Fabrication Technology: Report
Moreover, the improvements in processing capacity and efficiency should lead to smoother gaming, help on-device AI processing, and eliminate any minor lags that you may find on the current-generation iPhones based on a 3nm fabrication tech.
