iPhone 17 performance just tipped for a big upgrade — here’s how

iPhone 16 family — (Image credit: Future)

The iPhone 16 has only just arrived, but we’re already hearing quite a few reports about the upcoming iPhone 17 — including what kind of chip it could feature. The question of the chip’s size has been an open question, and we may be getting some answers.

Early rumors suggested that we could see the debut of a 2nm chipset next year, though more recent reports suggest we’ll have to wait until the iPhone 18 for that to happen. But this doesn’t mean the 2025 iPhone won’t get a performance upgrade. According to analyst Jeff Pu, the A19 and A19 Pro chips will be made using a brand new version of TSMC’s 3nm process.

The smaller the chip, the greater the density, and those big landmark changes should offer the biggest boosts in this area. Though it’s impossible to say just how big a leap it will be at this early stage. It seems TSMC isn’t stopping at 2nm, with reports from early this year claiming that it could start production on 1.4nm chips as soon as 2027.

That was back when everyone thought 2nm chips would debut next year. Since that probably isn’t happening, those timelines could easily change. In the meantime, we should focus our attention on the iPhone 17, and you can keep up to date with all the latest news and rumors in our iPhone 17 hub.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.