Technology glossary

Apple A18

The phone chip built on second-generation 3 nm technology that Apple uses in iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

A18 has a 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, a 5-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. Apple says the CPU is 30% faster than A16 Bionic and uses 30% less power for the same work; the GPU is up to 40% faster and 35% more efficient.

The GPU supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which Apple describes as up to 5x higher frame rates than software ray tracing. The Neural Engine runs machine-learning models up to twice as fast as A16.

The A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro models is a different chip with its own glossary entry. Where a product value names A18 Pro, that entry applies rather than this one.

Devices using this technology

Phones · 2024

Apple iPhone 16

iPhone 16 is Apple’s 2024 standard phone. It has the A18 chip, a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, a 48 MP Fusion main camera and 12 MP ultra-wide camera, the new Camera Control and the Action button; it supports 25 W wireless charging over MagSafe and Qi2, Wi-Fi 7 and emergency messaging via satellite. The USB-C port runs at USB 2 speed. An independent review liked the performance and cameras but criticised Camera Control’s position and the way pressing it shakes the phone; owners are especially happy with photo quality.

Sources

  1. Apple Newsroom: Apple introduces iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
  2. Apple Support: iPhone 16 Technical Specifications