Apple’s marketing team does a phenomenal job in hyping up the positives of its products and chips, even if it means misleading the consumers into believing that they are actually investing in something that is cutting-edge. With the A16 Bionic, there were indications that the chipset fueling the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max was produced on TSMC’s 4nm process, meaning that the flagships would tout incredible power-efficiency attributes. However, according to a new rumor, the chipset was internally labeled as a 5nm part, not a 4nm one.
New rumor suggests the performance jump between the A16 Bionic and A17 Bionic will be massive, thanks to a transition from 5nm to 3nm
Despite being displayed as a 4nm part, well-known tipster URedditor shares that the A16 Bionic was referred to as a 5nm chip. This may explain why the M2 Pro and M2 Max, which are found in the updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, are mentioned in Apple’s press release to be mass produced on the 5nm process instead of the 4nm one. With this revelation, the A17 Bionic could deliver a bigger performance gap thanks to being made on TSMC’s cutting-edge 3nm node.
In a previous benchmark, the A17 Bionic was said to be up to 31 percent faster in single-core and multi-core results compared to its predecessor. The latest information now makes the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max appear as an enticing upgrade because both of these are said to exclusively ship with the A17 Bionic, while the less expensive iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will likely be treated with the A16 Bionic.
An interesting tidbit about the A16 - looks like the whole “4nm” thing was apparently a marketing gimmick, I’ve seen it labeled as a 5nm chip internally.
This does not Apply to the A17, that one is undoubtedly 3nm, so it should be a more significant upgrade. https://t.co/GjE8XWcLch
— Unknownz21
(@URedditor) August 21, 2023
In the thread started by URedditor, an ensuing discussion states that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is fabricated on the same ‘5nm’ process, though there are instances in which the chipset displays better power efficiency than the A16 Bionic. Some individuals also claim that TSMC’s 3nm process might be nothing more than a shrunk 5nm node and that the N3E technology would actually be 3nm in its truest form.
Of course, we will have to check in-depth if the A17 Bionic was just another product pushed by Apple’s comprehensive marketing fluff or if the custom silicon is actually designed and mass produced on a brand new architecture. So far, we are disappointed that the A16 Bionic is not a 4nm part, but it should not be surprising because companies always follow such practices.
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