Apple A18 and A18 Pro die shots confirm two different designs | Infinium-tech

Apple launched the A18 and A18 Pro just in time for the iPhone 16 series, and the Pro was said to have a more powerful GPU for intensive graphical tasks like augmented reality, 3D rendering, and ray tracing.

Now shots of the actual chips have been posted online, revealing that the platforms are quite different despite being built by TSMC on the same 3nm process technology.

Apple A18 • Next Part of A18 Pro

TSMC used the InFO-PoP (integrated fan-out package-on-package) method, which places DRAM packages directly on top of the SoC die, with TIV (via InFO) coupled with high-density RDL ( Redistribution layers). In this way, the overall chip size is reduced, ensuring stronger thermal and electrical performance.

A deeper look at the die shot reveals that the A18 Pro has more transistors, which means more power for the Pro, allowing for better overall performance.

Apple A18 • Back side of A18 Pro

Apple was said to reserve all TSMC 2nm process technology capabilities for A19 chips. However, analysts claimed that Cupertino will launch the iPhone 17 Pro duo with only 2nm chips as the Taiwanese manufacturer is having problems with yields.

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