Each year, Apple ushers in a new A-series system-on-chip to pair with the latest iPhones. In 2022, the company has taken an entirely new path. The new A16 processor is reserved only for the ’Pro’ model iPhones, while the standard iPhone 14 models get the same A15 we were introduced to 2021 (the 5-core GPU version that was found in the iPhone 13 Pro models).
The this-year and last-year split is not the only unique thing. The A16 is, more than usual, a relatively minor evolution on the previous SoC. There are a few changes to be sure, but the average user is unlikely to notice them. The differences between A15 and A16 appear to be relatively mild compared to Apple’s typical yearly cadence.
Earlier this year, I made some predictions about the A16 that were led by assumptions that did not all pan out (). While a few things were true, the performance uplift in the A16 is about half of what I predicted, and there are fewer major technological improvements visible. Here’s what’s new in the A16, and what you can expect from Apple’s first ‘Pro-only’ A series chip.
