The iPhone has long been one of the snappiest mobile phones on the market, but a new report suggests that it could become even faster in the near future. Economic Daily News reported that the iPhone 16 and iOS 18 will feature next-generation processors powered by a greater number of AI computing cores.
Apple’s Neural Engine has had 16 cores since its introduction in 2020, but the company has managed to increase speeds over that time while maintaining the core design. Economic Daily News’ report noted that Apple will increase the number of cores for the first time, giving the iPhone 16 a significant performance boost over the current models.
“This year, it will not only greatly strengthen the AI computing power of M3 and A17 processors but also significantly increase the number of AI computing cores and performance of the new generation of M4 and A18 processors, and the carrying rate of AI applications in all product lines will be greatly improved,” the publication said.
Those improvements will likely make the iPhone 16 a total powerhouse, but there’s more than a slight chance that prior iPhone generations could also get a boost. Devices introduced since 2020 have the 16-core neural engine, which is powerful enough to provide some of the benefits of the new design.
Apple always withholds the best features for the newest devices, but an increase in computing power would benefit image quality, everyday speeds, and could even improve battery life for older devices. That said, the iPhone 16 is expected to get a much-improved camera and larger battery, so it will be the phone to buy in 2024.