Apple A19 Pro processors are 150% faster than their predecessors: differences between iPhone 17/Pro/Air chips

Along with the new iPhone 17 series of smartphones, Apple has introduced new A19 and A19 Pro mobile chips. The standard iPhone 17 received the regular A19, and the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro — A19 Pro. But there is a nuance. Although two processor models are mentioned, the smartphones actually use three different versions of chips. All of them are manufactured using the newer 3-nanometer process.

Yes, indeed, the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro use the A19 Pro processor. But the fact is that the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models have a more powerful A19 Pro with a 6-core GPU. The iPhone Air also uses A19 Pro, but with one graphics core disabled. Therefore, the chip seems to be one, but in two different versions with different performance levels.

According to Apple, the differences between smartphones and processors are as follows:

• A19 (iPhone 17) — 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU
• A19 Pro (iPhone Air) — 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU
• A19 Pro (iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max) — 6-core CPU, 6-core GPU

The amount of RAM also differs: The iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro have 12 GB each, while the standard iPhone 17 has 8 GB.

A19

All versions of the A19 have received Neural Accelerators — accelerators for each GPU core that improve the performance of everyday tasks and the performance of local AI models such as Siri on the device. The 16-core Neural Engine, display processor, and image processor have also been updated.

Apple claims that the A19 Pro has the fastest CPU among smartphones and the most advanced GPU. The CPU has a 50% larger last-level cache, higher bandwidth, and improved branch prediction. The GPU features increased computing speed, unified image compression, and the second generation of dynamic caching. Neural Accelerators provide 4 times the peak processing power of the A18 Pro.

A19 Pro

The iPhone 17 Pro models also feature a new evaporative cooling system that allows the A19 Pro chip to reach its full potential. Thanks to the new architecture, the CPU and GPU deliver up to 40% better sustained high performance compared to the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 series.

Apple claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max with the full A19 Pro can run up to 150% faster than previous generations. On the iPhone Air, the difference is also noticeable with up to 120% graphics performance compared to previous chips.

Apple’s official benchmarks avoid direct comparisons with the A18 or A18 Pro from the iPhone 16, as the gap would be smaller. Instead, the charts use data from the iPhone 13 and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The results of the performance tests look like this:

• A19 Pro (iPhone Air) vs. A15 Bionic (iPhone 13) — up to 50% faster CPU, up to 120% faster GPU
• A19 Pro (iPhone Air) vs. A17 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro) — up to 20% faster CPU, up to 50% faster GPU
• A19 Pro (iPhone 17 Pro) vs. A15 Bionic (iPhone 13) — up to 50% faster CPU, up to 150% faster GPU
• A19 Pro (iPhone 17 Pro) vs. A17 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro) — up to 20% faster CPU, up to 30% faster GPU

For an even bigger gap, Apple advises taking the Pro models, where graphics can be up to 250% more productive than the A15 Bionic.

Source: macrumors, wccftech, tomshardware