Apple has made a significant upgrade in its new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models by introducing the lightning-fast A17 Pro Bionic processor. This high-performance chip replaces the A16 Bionic chip found in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro models and marks another leap forward in processing power for Apple.
Apple claims that the A17 Pro is the “fastest chip in any smartphone,” and given the company’s track record, that claim is likely accurate. Apple has consistently outperformed its competitors in terms of raw processing speed, which has helped the company differentiate its products, increase demand, and support software upgrades for years to come.
The A17 Pro is Apple’s first processor built with TSMC’s cutting-edge 3-nanometer process. This advanced manufacturing process offers a smaller form factor, improved performance, and higher efficiency. MediaTek, one of Apple’s competitors, recently announced its use of the same 3nm process, but its mobile processor won’t reach mass production until 2024.
Check this out: iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max: First look
Staying ahead of competitors involves adopting new chip manufacturing technologies, and the A17 Pro does just that. With a staggering 19 billion transistors, an increase from the A16’s 16 billion transistors, the A17 Pro is a powerhouse. By comparison, the A15 has 15 billion transistors, the A14 has 11.8 billion, and the A13 has 8.5 billion.
Similar to its predecessors, the A17 Pro features six CPU cores, including high-performance cores that are 10% faster than last year’s model, and four energy-efficient cores that handle less demanding tasks while preserving battery life. According to Apple, these efficient cores offer three times the performance per watt compared to unnamed competitors.
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The neural engine in the A17 Pro, responsible for AI tasks such as speech recognition, is twice as fast as before. It is capable of processing up to 35 trillion operations per second, almost double the 17 TOPS of the previous year. This increased speed enables more machine learning tasks on the iPhone, reducing the need to rely on cloud services. It enhances features like precise image manipulation, background blurring, and even generating human-like voices. For gamers, it powers the new MetalFX technology which improves graphics without draining the battery as much as increasing the resolution would.
The A17 Pro also includes dedicated engines specifically designed for iPhone 15 Pro features like the ProRes video format. It adds support for the new AV1 video format, promising improved performance for video services such as YouTube. Additionally, it introduces the ProMotion engine for the iPhone and always-on display.
One notable feature of the A17 Pro is its dedicated USB component, enabling data transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps through the new USB-C port on the iPhone. This allows for seamless video transfer to a laptop or capturing 4K 60fps ProRes video directly onto an external storage device.
The A17 Pro also introduces a redesigned GPU that Apple describes as the “biggest redesign in the history of Apple GPUs.” It boasts six cores, delivering a 20% increase in performance while being more energy-efficient for gaming. Additionally, the A17 Pro includes hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which enhances lighting and realism in games for a more immersive gaming experience.
This trend of integrating more advanced technology directly into the silicon highlights the pursuit of better features, performance, and battery life. However, as chips become more complex, manufacturing them becomes increasingly challenging. In certain areas, processors are being broken down into tightly interconnected “chiplets” to reduce the risk of malfunctions.
For more information on Apple’s iPhone 15 event, be sure to check out all of the exciting announcements.
