In less than a month’s time, the new iPhone 17 series will be out and up for grabs. It will bring four devices into the market: iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the all-new iPhone 17 Air.
The iPhone 17 lineup is expected to get modest upgrades overall, if analysts and experts are to be believed, and already, eyes are set on the iPhone 18 series that will arrive in 2026. Does that mean you can skip the iPhone this year and wait for its next iteration?
If you’re a performance fan, maybe yes!
A recent report by analyst and Apple supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that the iPhone 18 will have the A20 chip at its heart — and it will come with major performance enhancements over the A19 chipset that will be packed in the iPhone 17.
Kuo’s report says that the company Eternal Materials has become the first advanced packaging materials supplier for TSMC. As part of the contract from TSMC, it will be involved in the production of the iPhone 18 series and M5 MacBooks, with mass production set to begin in 2026.
According to Kuo’s report, “In 2H26, the iPhone 18’s A20 processor packaging will shift from InFO to WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module). WMCM uses MUF (Moulding Underfill), which integrates underfill and moulding processes, reducing material consumption and process steps to improve yield and efficiency.”
In simple words, WMCM allows for the combination of several components within a single package. This can enable Apple to create more intricate systems where the CPU, GPU, DRAM, and other elements of the iPhone can be placed either vertically or horizontally within the same package, offering greater flexibility.
To make it even simpler, the A20 is expected to be more compact and energy-efficient. This design will likely position the chip nearer to the iPhone’s physical memory, enhancing performance and potentially reducing power usage. Apart from the new architecture, Apple is also likely to use TSMC’s 2nm manufacturing process for the A20 chip.
The A20 improvements will also likely scale AI performance in iPhones, assuming the company delivers on its Apple Intelligence promises and Siri’s AI overhaul in 2026.
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