Apple advanced its SoC roadmap with the A19 family including A19Pro chips for iPhone 17. As expected, the emphasis is on AI. Apple’s strategy is to enable AI on device enhancing privacy and mobile immediacy. A 16-core Neural Engine boosts AI performance, supported by higher memory bandwidth and thermal upgrades in Pro models, reducing cloud reliance for tasks like live transcription. Both chips feature a 6-core CPU, consisting of two performance cores and four efficiency cores. Performance cores reach up to 4.26 GHz, while efficiency cores go up to 2.60 GHz. What’s important with this announcement is that Apple is putting its investment behind AI at the edge. And iPhones, iPads, and watches are the edge, where Apple’s revenue is currently residing.
After some delay, Apple is making good on its promise to beef up its AI. Apple’s A19 family advanced its phone SoC road map with a focus on on-device AI. Apple announced its new A19 and A19 Pro processors on Sept. 9, 2025, for the iPhone 17 (A19) and iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone Air (A19 Pro). TSMC manufactures both on the N3P 3-nm node. Apple aims for higher AI throughput, tighter hardware–software integration and improved sustained performance under load with an updated thermal design in the Pro models.
Both chips feature a 6-core CPU, consisting of two performance cores and four efficiency cores. Performance cores reach up to 4.26 GHz, while efficiency cores go up to 2.60 GHz. The A19 has 8 MB of L2 cache for its performance cluster and 4 MB for the efficiency cluster: the A19 Pro increases these to 16 MB and 6 MB, respectively. System-level cache expands from 12 MB in the A19 to 32 MB in the A19 Pro, enabling wider front-end bandwidth and better branch prediction in the Pro’s performance cores.
With this generation, Apple’s in-house designed GPU transitions to the Apple 10-series architecture. Accordingly, the A19 features a 5-core GPU (5 clusters, 80 EUs/640 ALUs). The A19 Pro can have either 5 or 6 cores depending on the device; the iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max utilize the full 6-core setup (6 clusters, 96 EUs/768 ALUs). Apple10 doubles FP16 throughput compared to previous designs and introduces per-core “neural accelerators” that perform tensor and matrix operations directly on the GPU pipeline. This enables graphics and ML kernels to share execution resources and memory bandwidth while developers work with a unified programming model. Enhanced dynamic caching and unified image compression improve locality and bandwidth efficiency.
A 16-core Neural Engine complements the GPU-integrated accelerators. Higher internal memory bandwidth and lower-precision math paths (e.g., FP16/INT8) increase AI token and frame rates for vision, speech, and multimodal workloads. The Pro models combine this compute power with a vapor-chamber heat spreader bonded to the unibody, which helps maintain clock speeds during extended sessions of capture, gaming, and AI inference.
On-device AI minimizes cloud calls for sensitive workloads and tightens latency limits for features such as live transcription, object recognition, and intelligent assistants. Apple synchronizes iOS runtimes, compiler toolchains, and driver stacks with A19/A19 Pro so apps can schedule graphics and ML tasks across the CPU, Neural Engine, and the Apple10 GPU’s neural accelerators without context-switch penalties. This comprehensive alignment aims for consistent performance, predictable thermals, and efficient battery use in everyday tasks and professional workflows.
The question being begged so far is what do these upgrades portend for new Apple products down the line such as laptops and the next-in-line CPU powering them the M5. Apple has been usually leaky lately. News from reliable-ish sources suggests.the Apple M5 chip and A19 Pro share a similar architecture, but they’re designed for different devices. Here’s what we know so far:
Key Differences:
- M5 Chip:
- Designed for Macs and iPads, offering significant GPU upgrades with up to 35% improvement over the M4 chip.
- Expected to provide 10-12% single-core and 15% multi-core CPU performance gains.
- Supports neural processing for graphics-based applications like gaming.
- A19 Pro:
- Used in iPhones, featuring a 6-core CPU with 2 high-performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.
- Offers up to 37% better GPU performance than the A18 Pro, with a 6-core GPU and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
- Provides around 6% higher CPU performance than the standard A19 chip, likely due to more system-level cache.
Shared Features:
- Both chips utilize advanced manufacturing processes, with the A19 series built on TSMC’s 3nm N3P process.
- They support AI and neural engine upgrades for tasks like computational photography and augmented reality.
Keep in mind that the M5 chip is expected to be more powerful than the A19 Pro, given its design for Macs and iPads. However, the A19 Pro is still an impressive chip, offering significant performance gains and features like ray tracing and MetalFX upscaling
The Apple M5 chip is expected to feature significant upgrades over its predecessor, the M4 chip. Here are some of its anticipated specifications:
CPU:
- Up to 12 CPU cores, with enhanced performance and efficiency cores
- 15-20% faster CPU performance than the M4 chip
GPU:
- Up to 12-core GPU, with improved graphics performance and features like Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and mesh shading
- Around 15% faster GPU performance than the M4 chip
Neural Engine:
- 16-core Neural Engine, with improved AI and machine learning capabilities
- Potential for more powerful AI features and applications
Memory and Bandwidth:
- Up to 64GB unified memory
- Improved memory bandwidth for enhanced performance
Process Technology:
- Built on TSMC’s advanced 3nm N3P process technology, with potential for future upgrades to 2nm technology
- Enhanced power efficiency and performance
Other Features:
- Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support
- Thunderbolt 5 for faster data transfer rates
- Advanced cooling system for improved thermal management
As stated, these specifications are based on current rumors and leaks; the actual specifications may vary when the M5 chip is officially announced. New devices powered by the M5 chip, including laptops and iPads are now expected to be released in late 2025.