Mike Wuerthele
A leaker has broken from the pack, and is now saying that the core iPhone 17 will stick with the already released A18 chip, while the rest of the line gets chips derived from the A19.
It's generally accepted by the vast majority of leakers that the entire iPhone 17 line, including the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro, will boast the A19 chip, with varying amounts of RAM.
Now in a new note to investors, Jeff Pu from GF Securities is recanting one of his previous reports. He is now going against every other leaker in saying that the core iPhone 17 will stick with the A18 processor found in the iPhone 16 lineup.
He's also changed his tune on something a little less major. He now believes that there's a new lens technology in the Face ID sensor across the entire lineup. In a previous note, he said that the new technology was only coming to the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Also slightly modified is his predictions for RAM in the lineup. While the iPhone 17 is unchanged with 8GB of RAM, he now believes that the iPhone 17 Air will also have 8GB of RAM versus the 12GB he predicted previously. Unchanged is the previous guess of 12GB in the pro models.
Pu's track record is not stellar. While the use of the A18 makes sense and has precedent in the iPhone 15 lineup, it is the first report from any source that is saying that this will happen again.
Other more prolific — and more historically accurate — leakers have disagreed previously with nearly everything in Pu's latest note. For instance, a report from a historically totally accurate display chain leaker said on May 29 that the iPhone 17 will have a 6.3-inch screen. Pu appears to be sticking with his guess of 6.1 inches.
As with any break from the rumor pack, there's a certain amount of "me too" rumor reporting in the wake of a dissenting rumor. It remains to be seen what the other leakers have to say about this batch.
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Charles Martin
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
Marko Zivkovic
William Gallagher
5 Comments
Sounds like Apple’s purposed misinformation campaign to catch leakers is in effect.
Maybe its the A26 already?
If this rumour turns out to be true, I'll be sitting pretty with my iPhone 16 Pro, which has the A18 Pro. The jump in performance from my trusty iPhone XR has been impressive, to say nothing of the hardware features.
I don't think I'll wait quite as long for my next iPhone. I imagine I'll be getting my next one in 3-5 years. Apple's hardware innovation has been thrilling to watch and I think they'll be a roll for a while.
Yes, it is a violation of Moore's Law in order to boost profits, it is digital shrinkflation, but it is IMHO the best way to mitigate the cost of tariffs. With A18 being fast and supporting current AI there is no need to go for A19.
Why not rename it to 17e to make it sound a little more inferior, will help sway buyers to purchase the