Apple is already working on chips for future iPhones and Macs

Shawn Knight

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Forward-looking: As a tech enthusiast, it is easy to miss the forest for the trees. By that, I mean we tend to focus on what's next in line and forget that most major tech players are already working on several generations of advanced hardware behind the scenes. Occasionally, word of their existence leaks out.

Over the weekend, Twitter user @_orangera1n shared references to a number of Apple chip identifiers. Several of them correspond to chips that have already been released like the A16 Bionic SoC (0x8120) and the Apple M1 (0x8103) but others seemingly represent hardware that has not yet seen the light of day.

Based on sequences and patterns of previously released processors, it is believed that 0x8130 represents the A19 Bionic, and that 0x6050, 0x6051, and 0x6052 are tied to future M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra chips. Assuming Apple sticks with its standard release schedule, the A19 Bionic wouldn't debut until the iPhone 17 Pro models arrive in late 2025.

Per MacRumors, the references were found by making TSS requests for every possible identifier on an Apple Tatsu Signing Server (TSS). "Those that did not return an invalid identifier seemingly point to an unreleased chip," the publication noted.

Apple is widely expected to host its iPhone 15 reveal event sometime in mid-September and launch them by the end of the month. September 12 could be a likely date as Apple historically hosts its iPhone event on a Tuesday, and that'd give them enough time to open pre-orders ahead of a September 22 launch.

Rumors suggest the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will ship with Apple's new A17 Bionic, the company's first mobile chips built on 3nm technology. The A17 Bionic is said to improve performance by a reported 10-15 percent and reduce power consumption by up to 30 percent. Base models will come equipped with last year's A16 Bionic.

Other rumored iPhone 15 changes include replacing the Lightning port with a USB-C connector, an improved rear camera array, new battery technology, and an upgraded ultra-wideband chip for better Apple Vision Pro integration.

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Do we know what servers Apple use to power iCloud? Apple Music? App Stores?

Just wondering if they're potentially custom server chips Apple make but are used only internally?
 
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