Every year, Apple produces a new chip for its latest iPhones. But the A20 Pro chip for this fall’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra could be extra special. Here are its two big rumored upgrades.
#1: A20 Pro will be the first 2-nanometer iPhone chip
You can always bet on Apple to offer improvements in the latest generation of chips. But some years bring bigger upgrades than others and the new A20 Pro chip is expected to be exceptional.
That’s because with the A20 Pro, Apple will use TSMC’s new 2-nanometer process for chip manufacturing.
The switch from the current 3nm process to 2nm means the A20 Pro will be able to deliver more power and run more efficiently within the same sized chip footprint.
We see this at play whenever there is a significant advancement in manufacturing technology. That’s why Apple works years in advance to secure TSMC’s most cutting-edge offerings. This helps the company maintain its lead in the chips that power not only the iPhone, but also the iPad, Macs, and more.
We don’t know what specific areas Apple will focus on improving with the A20 Pro, but thanks to 2nm the company will have more headroom than usual.
#2: Switching to Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Modules Will Bring Even More Benefits
Apart from the advantage of 2nm, the A20 Pro is also expected to have another unique improvement due to a packaging innovation called Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module.
Here’s my colleague Marcus with the details:
For the first time, Apple is set to adopt Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) packaging for its iPhone processors. WMCM allows various components such as SoC and DRAM to be integrated directly at the wafer level before being divided into separate chips.
It uses a technology that attaches the dye without the need for an interposer or substrate, which can bring both thermal and signal integrity benefits.
In other words, Apple’s next-generation chip won’t be smaller and more power-efficient thanks to the N2. It will be physically closer to its onboard memory, leading to better performance and potentially lower power consumption for tasks like AI processing and high-end gaming.
With WMCM, the A20 Pro is expected to be particularly capable of AI tasks. This is no surprise, as the rumored headlining features of iOS 27 seem to be entirely AI-focused.
What areas are you most looking forward to improving in the iPhone 18 Pro? Let us know in the comments.
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