Earlier this year, we heard reports and rumors that Apple could split the iPhone 14 lineup with two different processors. The company might reserve the latest and greatest for its Pro-model phones to help it stand out and improve sales.

One of the most reputable analysts that often reveals news on Apple products, Ming-Chi Kuo, recently started hinting at the change. He suggests that Apple looks to bolster the bigger, better, more expensive Pro-line to increase sales and further differentiate the high-end option from the company’s other phones.

It sounds like Apple will reuse last year’s A15 chipset in the more affordable iPhone 14 and an iPhone 14 Max. Then, like previous new smartphone releases, Apple will unveil a faster, better, all-new A16 chipset, but it’ll only be available in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

[Analysis] Structural changes for iPhone’s high-end camera supply chain / iPhone高階相機供應鏈的結構性改變；Sony、大立光、Alps和LG Innotek顯著受益於僅iPhone 14 Pro/高階機型採用最新的A16處理器 @mingchikuo https://t.co/kZLdnXmAyN

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) July 6, 2022

At first glance, this doesn’t sound like something we’d expect from Apple. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard such a rumor to help bolster sales of its biggest and most expensive smartphone.

For example, many smartphone buyers can’t justify the higher price tag of the Pro model. Especially when something like the iPhone 13 was nearly the same, only it had two cameras instead of three and a few more minor things missing. And while some Pro models pack faster GPUs or additions like Apple’s ProMotion 120Hz display, that’s not enough for regular buyers to surpass the $1,000 mark on a phone.

Essentially, it sounds like Apple wants to reuse the A15 processor from all its iPhone 13 models in the new iPhone 14 later this year. If you get a regular iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Max, it could have last year’s chip. And if you want the absolute best performance, you’ll need to shell out more dollars for the iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max.

Remember that this is still only a rumor for now, but it comes from a reliable source. Who knows, maybe we’ll get two variants of the A16, similar to what Apple did with the M1 processor for its MacBooks and other devices. We’ll have to wait and see.

via XDA Developers