Latest news with #A18Chip
Phone Arena
3 days ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
iPhone 17 may miss out on this upgrade while the rest level up
Apple may be playing it safe with the base iPhone 17 this year. While the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup is shaping up to bring some big changes – if the rumors are to be believed – a new leak suggests the standard model could be keeping things pretty familiar. Apple analyst Jeff Pu now says that the base iPhone 17 model won't come with an upgraded processor. The information was shared in a research note with equity research firm GF Securities. Reportedly, the base iPhone 17 model may come with the same A18 chip that's currently in the base iPhone 16. The chip is said to be manufactured again with TSMC's second-gen 3nm process, according to the analyst. Meanwhile, that's not the case (reportedly) for the rest of the iPhone 17 series. The ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air, which is said to replace the 'Plus' model in the lineup, is said to come with an A19 chip, while the Pro iPhone 17 models are said to come with an A19 Pro chip. The analyst also says that the A19 processor series is also going to be manufactured by TSMC using a 3nm process, but there's a difference: reportedly, it would be a third-generation 3nm process. The A18 is nevertheless a very powerful processor. | Image Credit - PhoneArena Meanwhile, the analyst also claims that the base iPhone 17 may rock only 8GB of RAM, the exact same spec as the iPhone 16 . It's worth mentioning that the A18 chip is very strong and reliable, fast enough to destroy most of the competition anyway, so do keep that in month, reputable tipster Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air and the Pro models will come with 12GB of RAM now, most likely to match the growing demands of Apple Intelligence. Kuo also mentioned Apple hadn't decided on whether to equip the iPhone 17 with 12GB or leave it at 8. Well, if Pu's information is correct, Cupertino has decided: the iPhone 17 may come with 8GB of RAM. With all this in mind, it seems the iPhone 17 may be a minor update over the iPhone 16 . The design is said to be the same, apparently, the chip as well. However, a recent leak indicates the display may be what differentiates the two models: the iPhone 17 is expected to come with a bigger, 6.3-inch display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. Also, the front camera on the iPhone 17 may jump to 24MP from 12MP. The iPhone 17 series is expected to be unveiled in September.
CNET
26-05-2025
- CNET
I Tested the $599 iPhone 16E and Was Surprised by All the Features You Don't Get
When I reviewed the iPhone 16E I was charmed by its simplicity and frustrated by its $599 price. The phone is $200 less than the iPhone 16 but $100 more than rivals like the $499 Pixel 9A (and Google's cheap phone comes with two rear cameras). The iPhone 16E has many of the iPhone 16's best features, like an A18 chip, a 48-megapixel main camera, iOS 18, Apple Intelligence and access to Apple services like Facetime, iMessage and Emergency SOS via Satellite. What more could you want, right? Well, as with other affordable phones, compromises were made to get to that lower price. These omissions tell you a lot about what Apple values -- like Apple Intelligence, for example. I've reviewed more budget phones than I can count, and the best ones always offer far more than just their low sticker price. It's a pleasant surprise when a company like Motorola, OnePlus or Google nails the balance of what to keep and what to omit. Let's take a look at the features you don't get on the iPhone 16E. And just because this Apple phone lacks a feature doesn't make it bad… unless it's a feature you want. Watch this: iPhone 16E Review 07:20 MagSafe and Qi2 MagSafe has become a popular aspect of being an iPhone owner, and it's wild that the iPhone 16E doesn't have it. MagSafe debuted in 2020 on the iPhone 12 and uses magnets inside the phone to help it wirelessly charge by ensuring it's in the optimum position. The magnets have an added benefit because they let you attach magnetic accessories to your iPhone, like a wallet or battery pack, as well as secure your phone to mounts, like one in a car. The iPhone 16's MagSafe supports 25-watt wireless charging speeds. But the iPhone 16E only supports 7.5W wireless charging, the original Qi standard -- not even Qi2 speeds of 15W. Ultrawide, macro camera Apple/Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET The iPhone 16E has something of a rarity in 2025: a single rear camera. But as I've said before, in other stories and reviews, I'd rather have one really good camera than the two or three mediocre ones that can often be found on sub-$300 phones. The 16E's main camera has a 48-megapixel sensor, which has enough resolution for sensor cropping to offer a 2x magnification -- not quite the same as having a second camera, but close. Sensor cropping can't replace having a dedicated ultrawide camera, which on the iPhone 16 doubles as a macro camera, letting you focus on close-up subjects, like for food photos. 3 grams The iPhone 16E weighs 167 grams, making it 3 grams lighter than the 170-gram iPhone 16. Hey, not all omissions are bad. Dynamic Island The iPhone 16E has a screen notch. Apple/CNET The iPhone 16E brings back the screen notch, a cutout at the top of the screen that houses the phone's selfie camera and FaceID technology. But it lacks the Dynamic Island cutout, which is a smaller, oval-shaped hole at the top of the display on the iPhone 16. Apple uses the screen space around the Dynamic Island cutout to show system alerts as well as background tasks, like when music is playing. Obviously the 16E's lack of a Dynamic Island won't prevent it from showing alerts, but it's still missing out on a clever software interface. Qualcomm 5G modem and mmWave The C1 modem is Apple's first in-house 5G modem. Apple/Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET In its launch video, Apple proudly pointed out that the iPhone 16E has an in-house designed 5G modem called C1. The new Apple modem forgoes the Qualcomm 5G modems used in other iPhone models. Designing its own modem allows Apple to tailor the device for its phones. The new modem helps extend the iPhone 16E's battery life, which Apple says is longer than it is with other iPhone 16 models. But the C1 modem has one wrinkle: It doesn't support 5G mmWave (or ultra-wideband), which is the very fast flavor of 5G that you might experience in parts of some cities or at a stadium for an event. Color options The iPhone 16E comes in black or white. Apple/CNET When the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus launched, one of the best aspects was that they came in colors like ultramarine, teal and pink. The iPhone 16E comes in only black or white. Five GPU cores One of the iPhone 16E's biggest features is that, like the iPhone 16, it has the A18 chip and can run Apple Intelligence. But the chip isn't exactly the same. The iPhone 16's A18 chip has five GPU cores, while the 16E's has only four. So, what does that mean exactly? Well, the good news is that the difference doesn't have a noticeable effect on daily use with the iPhone 16E. But if you're someone who plays graphics-intensive games for hours on end, the iPhone 16 could have a slight edge. Camera Control button Here's the pop-up menu (top right) that appears as you're using the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16. Marc Ganley/CNET Apple's omission of the Camera Control button, which also triggers Visual Intelligence searches, makes sense, since the 16E has only a single camera. Those people who are likely to use a Camera Control button are probably going to get an iPhone 16 or 16 Pro, because those models have more cameras. Apple also smartly enabled the 16E's Action button to start a Visual Intelligence search. Ultra-wideband, Wi-Fi 7 and Thread The iPhone 16E lacks Apple's ultra-wideband chip, meaning you won't be able to use the Precision Tracking feature in Find My for AirTags. The phone supports Wi-Fi 6 but not the newer 6E or 7 standards. Wi-Fi 6 speeds are good, but as more Wi-Fi 7 routers come out, the 16E won't be able to take advantage of faster peak speeds. The 16E also lacks support for Thread radio and won't be able to directly connect to some smart home devices with a built-in Thread border router. Action, Cinematic and Spatial video modes The iPhone 16E's Camera app doesn't have: Action mode for stabilizing video recordings with lots of camera shake Cinematic mode for recording videos with a faux shallow depth of field Spatial mode for recording "3D" videos for the Vision Pro, which needs two cameras Other odds and ends The iPhone 16E has Photographic Styles, but not the newer ones that debuted on the iPhone 16 series. The 16E can take Portrait mode photos, but it lacks the ability to change focus after the fact like on the iPhone 16. The 16E's display is covered with Ceramic Shield, but not the newer, more durable version that's on the iPhone 16. Though this list of omissions is long, that doesn't mean the iPhone 16E is a bad phone. I look forward to getting my hands on one and testing it soon.
CNET
19-05-2025
- CNET
Apple iPhone 16E Specs vs. iPhone 15 Pro: New Entry-Level or Last Year's Pro
One of the biggest selling points of Apple's $599 iPhone 16E is that it offers excellent bang for the buck. It is Apple's most affordable iPhone, but it still has many of the same features as the $799 iPhone 16, such as the latest A18 chip and Apple Intelligence, which introduces generative emoji, smarter notifications and, eventually, an improved Siri. Watch this: iPhone 16E Review 07:20 Yet, it might be worth looking at the company's older iPhones, such as the iPhone 15 Pro. It might not be as cheap as the iPhone 16E, but it has much better features, such as a nicer camera and better charging capabilities. Those extra features might be worth the higher price. Plus, you can potentially get it at a lower price than the iPhone 16 if you buy it refurbished. How do these phones compare? We've outlined a few features for you to find out which one is the best iPhone for you. The iPhone 16E and the iPhone 15 Pro both have 6.1-inch displays, but the Pro has a few more perks. Celso Bulgatti/CNET Display The iPhone 16E and the iPhone 15 Pro feature the same 6.1-inch size screen at a similar display resolution, but there are still a few differences. The iPhone 16E runs at a 60Hz refresh rate -- similar to all of the non-Pro iPhone models -- and it can reach a 1,200-nit peak brightness. It also has a similar display notch to the iPhone 14, and does not support the Dynamic Island that serves up contextual information on other iPhone 15 and 16 models. It's functional and should work fine whether you are using the phone indoors or outdoors, but the Pro's screen has several additional perks. The iPhone 15 Pro (right, seen here with the 15 Pro Max), includes the Dynamic Island around its display cutout. James Martin/CNET The iPhone 15 Pro's display can run at a variable refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz, changing based on what activity you are doing. You can expect to see the smoother 120Hz refresh rate when scrolling through websites, playing games and other applications that benefit from smoother animations. According to Apple, it will hit the lower end of that range to conserve battery life when you aren't using the phone. The display also hits a higher 2,000 nits of peak brightness (outdoors) and includes the Dynamic Island that shows information like the music player or countdowns around the space of the front-facing camera's display cutout. Both the iPhone 16E (seen here) and the iPhone 15 Pro can play more graphically-intense games such as Resident Evil 4 Remake. Celso Bulgatti/CNET Processor The iPhone 15 Pro has the A17 Pro chip, which is a six-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores that makes it great for graphics and gaming. The iPhone 16E, on the other hand, ships with the latest A18 chip, which gives it a touch more power and speed. In practice, the A17 Pro is still a very capable chip that will serve you well for years to come. The A18 chip, however, will likely receive software and new feature updates for a slightly longer period of time. Both processors are capable of running Apple Intelligence and more advanced iPhone games like Resident Evil 4 Remake and Death Stranding. The iPhone 16 has a Clean Up tool that can remove unwanted elements from photos. Numi Prasarn/CNET Apple Intelligence One of the iPhone 16E's biggest highlights is that it supports Apple Intelligence, which was previously only available in Apple's high-end offerings like the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16. Apple Intelligence offers plenty of benefits such as smart writing tools, a Clean Up tool that removes unwanted elements from photos and a potentially smarter Siri on a future update. The iPhone 15 Pro, as mentioned, has had this from the start, so the two are fairly equal in this department. The iPhone 16E has a single 48-megapixel main camera. Celso Bulgatti/CNET Camera The biggest visual difference between the iPhone 16E and the iPhone 15 Pro is that the latter has three cameras instead of one. The iPhone 15 Pro has a 48-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. It also has a large 48-megapixel sensor that helps immensely in low light. The iPhone 16E, on the other hand, only has a single 48-megapixel rear camera. It has to rely on sensor-cropping for improved zoomed-in shots. Both have 12-megapixel front-facing cameras. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have three cameras on the back. James Martin/CNET Charging Another downside to the iPhone 16E is that it lacks support for MagSafe wireless charging, and is only compatible with Qi charging capped at 7.5W. The iPhone 15 Pro, on the other hand, supports 15W MagSafe charging. Not only can it wireless charge at twice the speed, it also supports a whole range of magnetic accessories that the iPhone 16E won't be able to use unless it has a third-party MagSafe-compatible case. Both phones use USB-C for wired charging, with Apple citing that both can recharge their battery to 50% in 30 minutes when connected to a 20W adapter. In CNET's review testing for the iPhone 16E and iPhone 15 Pro, both phones tested slightly better than this. The iPhone 16E recharged from 0% to 59% in 30 minutes, and the 15 Pro recharged from 0% to 62% after being updated to iOS 17.0.3. Both the iPhone 16E and the 15 Pro charge over USB-C. Celso Bulgatti/CNET Pricing (and a note on buying refurbished) Obviously, the iPhone 16E offers the lower price as it retails for just $599. Apple, however, is now officially selling a refurbished version of the 15 Pro for just $759, which is cheaper than the $799 iPhone 16. Sure, that's more expensive than the 16E, but the Pro's extra features might be worth a higher price for you. Additionally, while buying phones in a secondary market has its issues (the phone might not always be in great shape), Apple's official refurbished program has an excellent reputation that is akin to buying the product new. Check out the following chart to see how the iPhone 16E and the iPhone 15 Pro stack up in other aspects.
