And just as expected, there’s no surprise this year

Oct 15, 2018 06:33 GMT  ·  By

Apple has only recently launched the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and the company is now gearing up for the debut of iPhone XR, but this doesn’t mean it’s not already working on the next-generation model.

The 2019 iPhone, whose name is obviously still an enigma at this point, will come with chips manufactured by TSMC, as Apple has decided to go with the same company as for the latest-generation iPhones.

TSMC has been building iPhone chips since the A10 chip released in 2016, and will continue to be the exclusive manufacturer for one more generation. As it happens with every generation, Apple will design all chips in-house.

Very little is known about the 2019 iPhone A13 chip, but a report from Digitimes indicates that Apple picked TSMC especially because it has what it takes to build high-quality chips in high volumes. Meeting Apple’s requirements and demand isn’t a job for every manufacturer, and Apple wants to make sure that it has the necessary inventory before launching new models.

A12X chip on its way

Just like the A12 launched this year on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, the 2019 chip will probably be built on a 7nm platform with improvements in terms of battery life and performance.

As per Apple’s product roadmap, the 2019 iPhone models with the A13 chips are projected to debut in September next year, so expect more information on the technology to make it to these devices to surface in the coming months.

In the meantime, Apple’s working on an improved version of the A12 chip that would power the next iPad Pro possibly coming by the end of the year. The next tablet will be powered by an A12X chip coming with optimizations for tablet use and multitasking, as these are two of the main requirements on the iPad Pro.