New Apple Leak Reveals iPhone 15 Release Shock:

Apple’s iPhone 14 range delivers a controversial first: it is the first iPhone range to be released with different chipset generations. Many believed this was a one-off, a consequence of the global chip shortage, but the first iPhone 15 leak has a shock in store.

Yes, the iPhone 14 is just one week old, but Apple works years in advance, and a new report from Nikkei Asia states that the company has already decided to limit its next-generation A17 chip to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. And this matters more than it did for the iPhone 14 lineup.

While performance differences between the A15 and A16 are minor, both chips are head and shoulders above the competition, which makes the differences less important. The real downside is no noticeable improvement in battery life from the A16, but this looks set to change with the A17.

According to Nikkei, the A17 will be Apple’s first 3-nanometer fabricated chip after 5nm variants were used for the A14, A15 and A16. This is bleeding edge technology and, compared to its predecessors, 3nm enables the A17 to run faster, cooler and with reduced power draw. Yes, this is shaping up to be the first chip in four years that delivers significant year-on-year performance and battery life gains — but only for Pro buyers.

“Apple is likely to use the different levels of production tech to introduce greater differences between its premium and nonpremium models,” explains Dylan Patel, chief analyst with Semianalysis, speaking to Nikkei.

There is a justification for this strategy, too: Cost. Patel estimates a cost increase of “at least 40% at least 40% for the same area of silicon when moving to 3-nm chips from the 5-nm family.” All of which sounds like classic Apple: if you want the best, we will make it, but you’ll have to pay the premium

And this is Apple’s new ‘Pro’ strategy in a nutshell: continue to widen the gap between Pro and non-Pro devices in all categories (iPhone, iPad, Mac and MacBook) to create clear division and motivate upsell. It is a tactic which already seems to be working. Influential analyst Ming Chi-Kuo reports that pre-orders of iPhone 14 Pro models far outstrip their non-Pro equivalents.

Nikkei says TSMC, Intel and Apple (unsurprisingly) declined to comment on its information, but it cites three different sources for the information. Which suggests we should take it seriously.

With USB-C also hotly tipped for iPhone 15 Pro models, Apple’s next-gen iPhones are already shaping up to be breakthrough devices. But don’t be surprised if their prices reflect this.