Summary of Apple A18 Pro CPU information: Extremely strong performance, AI support

 Recent rumors show that this SoC will still be equipped with a 6-core GPU, with the core configuration remaining unchanged compared to its predecessor A-series chipsets. Meaning we probably won't see noticeable differences between the two generations of Apple silicon chips, at least structurally.

Similar to the A17 Pro, both the A18 and A18 Pro are rumored to have a 6-core CPU. Blogger @Negativeonehero said these two SoCs are expected to possess two high-performance cores and four efficiency (energy-saving) cores. This could be a response to YouTuber Vadim Yuryev's previous prediction regarding the core count of the A18 and A18 Pro. Yuryev believes that the A18 Pro will have a '2 + 6' configuration. Additionally, only having a 6-core CPU is also a disappointment as the SoC can lose multi-threaded performance.

Summary of Apple A18 Pro CPU information: Extremely strong performance, AI support Picture 1

However, even with a 6-core configuration, the single-core and multi-core performance improvements of the A18 and A18 Pro will still be impressive. Although both are manufactured on TSMC's 3nm process, the A18 Pro uses TSMC's second generation 3nm process called N3E while the A17 Pro is manufactured using the first generation 3nm process called N3B.

Evaluation results on the A18 Pro's Geekbench 6 scale show up to 22% faster performance in single-core power and 28% faster performance in multi-core performance compared to the A17 Pro. In terms of single-core performance, the A18 Pro is completely unmatched and is actually competing with Apple's own M3 chipset series.

Additionally, with the A18 and A18 Pro, Apple can use a larger die size, leading to increased cache and Neural Engine memory, which in turn allows for more transistors and specialized components for AI. Thus, the A18 Pro may also be a chip focusing on artificial intelligence. However, experts fear this could also lead to performance and heat dissipation issues.

At the same time, Apple will optimize the upcoming iOS 18 to run better with the A18 Pro. Some rumors also say that Apple is ramping up production of the A18 Pro chip earlier than usual.

Kareem Winters

Update 04 April 2024