Apple Unveils Powerful A19 Pro Chip, Claiming MacBook Pro-Level Performance in New iPhones

Apple Makes Bold Claim For New A19 Pro Chip in iPhone Air and 17 Pro

Expertise Laptops | Desktops | All-in-one PCs | Streaming devices | Streaming platforms When Apple trots out a new iPhone, it's always quick to point out how much faster it is than last year's iPhone or the model before that if it really wants to throw out a big percentage jump in performance. And sure enough, after showing off iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro at its "awe dropping" September event, Apple got to the performance claims for the A19 Pro chip that powers both of these new iPhones. Apple says the iPhone 17 Pro offers up to 40 percent better sustained performance than the iPhone 16 Pro. And when discussing the AI performance of the iPhone Air, Apple estimates that the new neural accelerators located on each of five GPU cores gives the A19 Pro a 3X gain in the peak GPU compute compared to last year's A18 Pro. But before he ended his bit about the iPhone Air's performance, Apple's SVP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus gave us this unusual line, "This is MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone, perfect for GPU-intensive AI workloads." That's the first time I've heard an iPhone's performance compared to that of a MacBook. Of course, Tetanus didn't say which model of MacBook Pro he was using for the comparison, but it's certainly a bold statement, to skip past the MacBook Air and even the M4-powered iPad Pro and go right to the most powerful MacBook. Here are my two takeaways from this statement: 1. Apple is feeling the pressure to catch up to Google Gemini-powered Pixel phones in the generative AI race and is signaling that a serious AI upgrade to Siri is coming sooner than later. And when it does arrive, Apple wants us all to know that the iPhones it released today have the goods to perform the on-device AI tasks of the new-and-improved, AI-enhanced Siri. 2. We might see a MacBook in the coming year based not on an M5 chip but the A19 Pro. I doubt we'll see a budget MacBook Pro based on anything other than Apple's latest M-series processor, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the rumored $599 MacBook Air get the A19 Pro. First, the specs for the A19 Pro chip: In both the iPhone Air and 17 Pro, the A19 Pro chip features a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores and a 16-core neural engine. You get an extra GPU core in with the iPhone 17 Pro -- it has a 6-core GPU to the Air's 5-core GPU. These are the same core specs (pardon the pun) as the A18 Pro -- a 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU, 16-core neural engine -- but Apple touted improvements to its chip architecture for the A19 Pro, including improved front-end bandwidth and branch prediction of the CPU's two performance cores and a 50-percent increase in last-level cache size of the four efficiency cores. On the GPU, the A19 Pro moves to the second generation of Apple's Dynamic Caching architecture and doubles its 16-bit floating-point math performance, which is crucial for on-device AI. There are two reasons why Apple made different performance claims when introducing the iPhone Air and 17 Pro. The first is the extra GPU core on the A19 Pro in the iPhone 17 Pro. And the second is the larger chassis with the more advanced cooling system of the iPhone 17 Pro that allows the A19 Pro to run faster than it can in the ultra-thin iPhone Air where thermal throttling is certainly in effect.

The A19, N1, and C1X: The drumbeat of impressive Apple silicon continues

The "Apple designed" takeover of the chips inside our devices continues apace, and we're all right with that. Though details were scant, Apple introduced several new chips at its "Awe Dropping" iPhone 17 event on Tuesday. There were new A-series processors as expected: the A19 in the iPhone 17 and A19 Pro in the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro. But Apple also quickly announced a new C1X cellular modem and N1 network processor. We have limited information about these new chips, but here's what we know so far. The A19 appears only in a single phone, the iPhone 17. Apple says it is made with "the most advanced 3nm technology," which probably means TSMC's latest N3P process. As with the A18, it's got 6 CPU cores (2 performance, 4 efficiency) and 5 GPU cores. It's hard to tell what's actually improved, and by how much. A new display engine is necessary for ProMotion and always-on display, but it's nothing we haven't seen in other Apple chips for years. The 5-core GPU is "a big step up," according to Apple, with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shaders, and MetalFX upscaling. Frankly, it sounds like the GPU cores of the A18 Pro. Apple says the GPU will be 20 percent faster than the A18. The Neural Engine is also "improved," but other than increased memory bandwidth, Apple doesn't get into specifics. Things get a little more interesting with the A19 Pro, which is found in the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. The performance cores have better front-end bandwidth and branch prediction, making it "the fastest CPU in any smartphone," according to Apple. Leaked Geekbench scores show a single-core score of nearly 3,900, which is indeed a record and 300-400 points higher than A18 Pro (around 10 percent faster). The efficiency cores have 50 percent more cache, which should improve power efficiency (any time you can grab data from cache, you avoid fetching it from RAM, which uses more power). The GPU gets some big upgrades, too. It's got five cores in the iPhone Air and six cores in the iPhone 17 Pro, but the cores are improved a lot over the A18 Pro's GPU. Each has improvements to compression, dynamic caching, and double the 16-bit floating point math rate. There are also new "Neural Accelerators" in the GPU cores, which triple the peak compute as the A18 Pro's GPU cores for the kinds of operations used often in AI and Machine Learning. That's in addition to the improved Neural Engine and the Machine Learning accelerators in the CPU cores. Apple said it provides "MacBook Pro levels of compute in an iPhone," and while no specific MacBook Pro model was mentioned, it's a big claim. Apple said the A19 Pro has "even more memory" than the A18 Pro, which means the rumors of those phones having 12GB of RAM are probably true. While introducing the iPhone Air, we got a genuine surprise: Apple announced that it uses a new upgraded version of the C1 modem, called C1X. Apple's first 5G modem, the C1, was introduced in the iPhone 16e this spring. Now, half a year later, Apple has an update that it says is "up to 2x faster." Apple also says that it's faster than the modem in the iPhone 16 Pro "for the same cellular technologies" while using 30 percent less overall power, which sound like a phrase meant to weasel its way out of losing some performance comparisons. We don't know if the other iPhone 17 models have newer Qualcomm modems than the one found in last year's models, but the C1 was roughly on par with those with the exception of lacking mmWave support. It was better in certain situations and worse in others, very much dependent on carrier and location. The Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 16 line was not the company's top-of-the-line offering, so the C1 holding its own in many situations is not as impressive as it might otherwise be. But for Apple to have an update with up to double the performance and more power efficiency in less than a year is quite a feat. The iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air all use a new Apple-designed wireless networking chip called N1, which enables Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread networking. This makes these the first Apple devices with Bluetooth 6. Beyond that, we don't know much about it. There are no performance or efficiency claims, really. Apple says it "improves overall performance and reliability in key areas like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop." There are a lot of qualifiers in that sentence, so it's best to reserve judgment on the N1 chip until there are some good independent tests. Still, Apple is full speed ahead on taking the entire wireless stack under its control, and it's nice to see that it it's coming right out of the gate with support for the latest standards.

A19 vs. A19 Pro: iPhone 17 Chip Differences

Apple introduced A19 and A19 Pro chips for the iPhone 17 lineup, with a total of three chip variants. The iPhone 17 uses the regular A19 chip, while the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models have the A19 Pro. All of the chips are built on a more advanced 3-nanometer process. The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max have a higher-end A19 Pro chip with a 6-core GPU, and the iPhone Air has an A19 Pro chip with one less GPU core. Here are all the differences, according to Apple: All of the A19 chips have "Neural Accelerators" for each GPU core that boost daily workflows and the performance of local AI models, such as on-device Siri. There's also an updated 16-core Neural Engine, an updated display engine, and an updated image signal processor. Apple says that the A19 Pro chip has the fastest CPU in any smartphone and the most advanced GPU yet. The CPU includes 50 percent larger last-level cache size, improved front-end bandwidth and improved branch prediction. The GPU features increased math rates, unified image compression, and second-generation dynamic caching. The Neural Accelerators offer 4x the peak compute of the A18 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro models have an updated thermal architecture that uses vapor chamber cooling, further enhancing the performance of the A19 Pro chip. With the new chip and the updated thermal design, the CPU and GPU in the A19 Pro deliver 40 percent better sustained performance than the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 models. Apple also included 12GB RAM in the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 models, while the iPhone 17 has 8GB.

A19 Pro, N1, and C1X: the chips powering the iPhone Air explained | Stuff

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 17 Air, its thinnest iPhone ever, at just 5.6mm. It's a stunner, wrapped in grade 5 titanium with a high-gloss mirror finish, elegant design, and surprisingly tough thanks to a Ceramic Shield. A 6.5in Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion up to 120Hz sits up front, while redesigned internal architecture and clever software optimisations mean this slimline device still delivers all-day battery life. That balance of design and endurance is only possible because of Apple's latest custom silicon: the A19 Pro, N1, and C1X. Wondering what these new chips do? We've got all the answers... The A19 Pro is what powers the iPhone Air. Its new 6-core CPU boosts both performance and efficiency for daily tasks, while the 5-core GPU brings a redesigned architecture tailored for high-end mobile gaming. It's capable of running AAA titles with smooth graphics and minimal power draw. Each GPU core now integrates a Neural Accelerator, tripling peak GPU compute compared with the previous generation. That's key for running demanding generative AI models directly on device - making the iPhone Air not just a gaming machine, but a pocket-sized AI engine. Next is the N1 chip, which handles all things wireless. Supporting Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, it's ready for the latest networks and smart-home gear. But it's not just about speed - the N1 also makes everyday features like AirDrop and Personal Hotspot faster and more reliable. If you've ever had a flaky transfer or sluggish connection, the N1 is designed to smooth things out. Finally, the C1X modem brings Apple's cellular design fully in-house. It's twice as fast as the previous C1 and even outpaces the modem in the iPhone 16 Pro, all while using 30-percent less energy. That means faster downloads, stronger signal retention, and improved efficiency - essential in a phone this thin. Apple calls it the most power-efficient modem ever in an iPhone, and in practice, it ensures you stay connected without sacrificing battery life.