Forget the iPhone 17, new leak says wait for the iPhone 18

By Luke Edwards Published March 20, 2025

Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends

The iPhone 17 isn’t even out yet and already we’re getting word about the following model and signs suggest the iPhone 18 is worth waiting for.

Apple has been reported as working on the manufacturing process for its A20 chip. This, according to GF Securities’ Apple analyst Jeff Pu, is a chip that is going to be built on the mind-melting 2nm scale known as N2.

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The firm also, at one point claimed the A20 chip would be built on the slightly larger N3P process. This has since been clarified by the head analyst Jeff Pu, speaking directly to Macrumors.

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What does all this mean for iPhone 18 owners?

For one thing, at this scale Apple will be able to cram in a massive 12GB of RAM. That could make the new iPhone a gaming powerhouse, as well as ideally suited for powerful AI supported tasking.

Current iPhone 16 models have 8GB of RAM, which is the minimum required for Apple Intelligence. As the race for AI dominance heats up and Apple goes all in, it would make sense for its iPhones to be powered to ensure they don’t limit what could be possible for that Intelligence.

So why wait for the iPhone 18?

All this means that the iPhone 17’s A19 chip, although likely an improvement on the current A18 in the iPhone 16, won’t be on the level that it’s follower will be.

By changing up the manufacturing process this will make the A20 chip, in the iPhone 18, and big jump forward. That can not only mean faster processing but also more efficiency for a longer battery life.

The iPhone 17 is due out in September, so if you can hold out for another year until September 2026, you might be rewarded with a more future-proof iPhone that lasts you that much longer.

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Luke has over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others, Luke writes about health tech…

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