Early iOS 18 leak again hints at a big change in the chips used in the upcoming iPhone 16

With the release of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineups in 2024, Apple might be about to completely change the way it names its chips. That's according to a new report that cites code found in an early iOS 18 build that hints at all four models using the same base chip at their core.

Apple isn't expected to announce the new iPhones until September, but we're already starting to learn new things about them ahead of time. At the top of the list is the belief that while we will see iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max models released, they will all use some version of a new A18 chip. That differs from previous years where the Pro models would get new chips and then the non-Pro ones would get the chips used by the Pro models the year prior.

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In this case, MacRumors says that it has learned that Apple is currently testing devices that all run a chip codenamed t8140, with the 't' thought to reference Tahiti, the internal name that Apple sues for the A18. It's expected that Apple will ship the chips under the A18 and A18 Pro monikers, however, with the latter sporting more active cores to allow for faster performance - most likely on the GPU side of things for improved gaming.

Perhaps notably, the report also says that there is currently no sign of an iPhone 16 Ultra, a device that has been rumored on and off for a while now. There was at one point thought to be an iPhone 15 Ultra, but that ultimately didn't arrive when the rest of the lineup was announced in September 2023.