Apple has unveiled its next generation of mobile APs for the iPhone 16 series. As predicted by an earlier rumours, Apple has launched two variants of the chip: A18 and A18 Pro. This time, the regular A18 appears to be more than an A17 Pro with a new label slapped on top.

The Apple A18 keeps Apple's quintessential 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores. However, it seems to be a lot more potent this time around, thanks to it being manufactured on TSMC's 'second generation' node aka N3P. Plus, it offers 17% more memory bandwidth compared to its predecessors.

As a result, it offers up to a 30% performance uplift over its last-gen counterpart. The Apple A18's 5-core GPU ups the ante with a 40% generation-over-generation performance boost. Plus, it natively supports hardware-based raytracing and will run last-gen titles such as Resident Evil Village.

Apple says the Apple A18 Pro has been tailor-made to accommodate the requirements of 'Pro' iPhone models. As predicted earlier, it comes with a 6-core GPU, but keeps the same CPU layout. The company claims the A18 Pro is 15% faster than the A17 Pro while consuming 20% less power. Other notable features include a dedicated media engine, 'faster' USB speeds, and ProRes recording.

Essentially, the Apple A18 Pro is a slightly better A18 with an extra GPU core slapped on top. Nevertheless, both chips look promising, and this time, you can actually get cutting-edge Apple Silicon without spending extra for a 'Pro' iPhone.