iPhone 15 rumours: Apple tipped to offer the A17 Bionic chip only on Pro models

Apple took the wraps off its iPhone 14 series earlier this month. However, rumours surrounding the iPhone 15 lineup have already started making the rounds online. To recall, the iPhone 14 range packed different chipset generations under the hood.

It was widely believed that Apple used different chips for the iPhone 14 series models due to the global chip shortage. However, a new iPhone 15 leak suggests that may not be the case.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Apple will restrict the A17 Bionic chip availability to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models next year.

There is not a major difference between the A15 Bionic and the A16 Bionic chips as far as performance is concerned. Also, the two chipsets are well above the competition so the differences are of little importance.

On the downside, the A16 didn't bring any notable improvements to the battery life department. However, the A17 Bionic chip could offer a noticeable improvement in terms of battery life.

According to the report, the A17 Bionic will be the first chip to use a 3 nm process. To recap, the A14, A15, and A16 Bionic chips use the 5nm process.

So, this 3-nanometer fabricated chip will adopt cutting-edge technology. Also, the 3nm process will allow the A17 to run faster than its predecessors without consuming a lot of power or heating up.

The A17 Bionic could turn out to be Apple's first chip in four years that offer notable year-on-year performance, coupled with improved battery life. On the downside, it will be powering up only the Pro models.

The chief analyst with Semianalysis, Dylan Patel, told Nikkei that Apple could introduce significant differences between the premium and non-premium iPhone models.

The American tech giant is likely to achieve this by using different levels of production tech. YouTuber WekiHome recently performed teardowns of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The teardown video confirmed the presence of Qualcomm's X65 modem in the iPhone 14 Pro models. Past leaks indicated that the iPhone 14 lineup would get the newer X70. However, it now looks like the X70 will make its debut on the iPhone 15 range in 2023.