Guo Mingqi predicts: iPhone 18 series may introduce chip tiering, with all models adopting Taiwan Semiconductor's 2-nanometer technology

According to the information from Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) has just released its latest smartphone - the iPhone 16, but the industry's focus has quickly shifted to its future product line. An analyst has already begun predicting that due to cost issues, the iPhone 18 series may see greater differentiation between different models. In a recent article by Tianfeng International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he predicts that the iPhone 18 series in 2026 will be powered by processors manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor's (TSM.US) 2-nanometer technology. However, he points out that not all iPhone 18 models will be equipped with this advanced 2-nanometer processor due to cost considerations.

Kuo also mentioned that the iPhone 17 series will adopt Taiwan Semiconductor's 2-nanometer technology. With the continuous advancement of chip manufacturing processes, the importance of yield - the number of qualified chips that can meet market demand - in product decision-making is increasing. He expects that the high cost of the 2-nanometer process may further widen the performance gap between the iPhone 18 Pro and the standard iPhone 18.

Currently, the iPhone 16 series is equipped with the A18 chip manufactured using 3-nanometer technology, which features a 6-core CPU and a 5-core GPU. The high-end iPhone 16 Pro is powered by the more advanced 3-nanometer A18 Pro chip, which has a 16-core neural engine capable of performing 350 trillion operations per second, along with a 6-core GPU that provides superior ray tracing performance for AAA-level games