The A20 Pro was officially announced by Apple just moments ago as the chipset that will power this year’s iPhone 18 Pro series, as well as the fruit company’s first ever foldable, the iPhone Duo. So then, the question is: what’s changed, and what improvements can we expect from it?
One of the most important distinguishing features of the A20 Pro is that it is the brand’s first mobile chipset built on the 2nm process node. And yes, the process node is made courtesy of its supplier, TSMC. It’s specifically based on TSMC’s base N2 node, and in this case, we think it’s prudent to mention that its direct rivals, the next-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC and MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro, are expected to be built around the beefier N2P process node.
Moving on, the A20 Pro retains a 6-core CPU design– like the A19 Pro, it sports a 2-Super Core and 4-Efficiency Core configuration — although Apple claims that it’s using an all-new chip architecture. On that note, it’s also been integrated with new Neural Accelerators, providing up to 50% more memory bandwidth than its predecessor, the A19 Pro.
Moving on, the A20 Pro also features a new 7-core GPU design that Apple says is up to 40% more powerful than the A19 Pro’s. Additionally, the chipset also houses a new Dual 16-core Neural Engine, providing 32 total cores for on-device AI model acceleration and computational photography.
The A20 Pro also features a new custom packaging that Apple says is inspired by its own M-Series silicon: the silicon die is placed side-by-side with the phone’s memory, thus allowing both the chipset and memory to communicate directly, as well as allowing Apple to attach its next-generation vapour chamber.
To reiterate, the A20 Pro will be powering both the iPhone 18 Pro Series and iPhone Duo, both of which will be 18 September and 23 October, respectively.
