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A18, A18 Pro Get Their First Die Shot Comparison From The Front & Back Sides, With Both Chipsets Sporting A Different Configuration Due To The 6-Core GPU

A18, A18 Pro Get Their First Die Shot Comparison From The Front & Back Sides, With Both Chipsets Sporting A Different Configuration Due To The 6-Core GPU

rewrite this title A18, A18 Pro Get Their First Die Shot Comparison From The Front & Back Sides, With Both Chipsets Sporting A Different Configuration Due To The 6-Core GPU

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Apple introduced its first family of second-generation 3nm chipsets for the iPhone 16 series, the A18 and A18 Pro, last month, bringing in a wave of improvements over last year’s A17 Pro. Despite featuring the same 6-core CPU and only being separated by a single GPU core, the latest die shot comparison reveals that a single difference can result in reconfiguring various clusters, as you will soon find out.

TSMC utilized its InFO-POP packaging for the A18 and A18 Pro, reducing the overall die size by ensuring strong thermal and electrical performance

An in-depth analysis was performed by Chipwise that included taking a closer look at the A18 and A18 Pro. On paper, both SoCs have negligible differences between them, but when examined from under a microscope, we learn quite a bit more about these chipsets. One of the biggest advantages of equipping either of these in the iPhone 16 lineup is that they were mass produced on TSMC’s Integrated Fan-Out Package-on-Package, or InFO-PoP for short.

This type of packaging stacks the DRAM directly on the chip die and adds high-density Redistribution Layers along with Through InFO Via technologies. In short, this helps to reduce the A18 and A18 Pro sizes while improving thermal and electrical performance. Best of all, this technique presents a ton of flexibility for Apple, as the DRAM package can be swapped or replaced.

Looking at the die shot comparison, we have made faint attempts to clearly see the extra GPU core on the A18 Pro. If our assumption is correct, it is present on the top but slightly to the left side of the die. It would have helped if Chipwise had labeled the CPU and GPU clusters, along with the Neural Engine, but it appears that we will have to wait for a closer inspection to find out more.

We are certain that there are eagle-eyed readers out there in the wild who possess a better understanding of which clusters to identify, so let us know in the comments if you can spot those configurations. While you are at it, you can also take a look at the Snapdragon X Elite and M4 die shot comparison that we posted yesterday, as there are some interesting differences that you will notice.

News Source: Chipwise

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