Updated October 15th: article originally posted October 14th.
Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro models will be faster and more efficient next year, thanks to new technology packed into the top-tier handsets. That could push users towards the more expensive handsets as the vanilla iPhone models stay with the older and slower option.
That’s according to long-standing analyst Jeff Pu, from Haitong International Securities. Apple will break tradition and offer the new Snapdragon X75 5G modem exclusively on the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max models, continuing to diminish the vanilla iPhone’s specifications while pushing consumers to the higher tier models.
Update: Sunday October 15th: The decision to restrict the more capable modem to the Pro models will not be the only time for iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to fall short.
WCCFtech’s Ali Salmen has picked out Pu’s comments regarding the Apple Silicon that will power the next iPhones. Only the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max ship with the new A17 Pro, as the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus use the older A16 Bionic. Next year, all four handsets are expected to move to the A18 platform and upgrade the 3nm node fabrication from N3B to N3E.
Except the four handsets are not going to have the same silicon heart. While the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max will reap all the benefits from the A18 Pro, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus will have a less advanced A18 Bionic. It will still be a step up in performance from the current setup, but it is another step where Apple is increasing the performance gap between the standard vanilla handsets and the more expensive Pro handsets.
One thing worth noting: the current gap is visible because of the cardinal difference between the A16 and A17, a distinction that will be camouflaged thanks to both chipsets labels as A18 hardware.
Pu, who has a solid record in reporting from the supply chain on the hardware specifications of upcoming iPhones, says that the next iOS-powered smartphones will, unsurprisingly, continue to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon modems but will split the handset specifications and the latest 5G technology will only appear in the Pro handsets.
It is widely agreed that Apple is working on designing and manufacturing its own modems, just as it has down with its Apple Silicon range of chipsets; Apple itself announced the acquisition of the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business in late 2019. Yet it continues to use Qualcomm’s range of Snapdragon branded modems across the iPhone and iPad range; last month extending that deal to cover phones launched in 2024, 2025, and 2026, the presumptively-named iPhone 16, iPhone 17, and iPhone 18 families.
The modem choice focuses attention on Apple’s marketing message across the iPhone range. The more advanced Snapdragon X75 modem is expected to only appear in the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max models, with the current X70 model held over for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus.
Splitting the two models of modems across the iPhone range will help continue the differentiation between the two tiers. Apple has created more separation between its Vanilla and Pro models over the last few years. The most visible implementation of this approach is in the Apple Silicon chipsets; the current iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are using the new A17 Pro, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone ship with the older and slower A16. You also have the addition of a telephoto lens in the main camera, a 120Hz refreshing screen and, of course, the use of titanium.
Adding a more powerful 5G modem, which will support “5G Advanced” will increase the perceived value of next year’s Pro iPhones. The X75 will offer faster connectivity and more efficient use of battery life over the X70, continuing to distance the two primary flavours of the iPhone.
Until Apple can promote its own range of modems heavily (presumably “connectivity in a way that only Apple can deliver”), the partnership with Qualcomm gives it the flexibility it demands across the range.
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