Model releases · 9 September 2026
The first major launch under new chief executive John Ternus brought the world's first 2-nanometre smartphone processor, a Neural Engine doubled to 32 cores, and a release date of 14 September for iOS 27 and its rebuilt Siri.
| Event | “Surprise and shine”, 9 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Chip | A20 Pro, in iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max |
| Process | 2-nanometer, TSMC N2 — the first in a smartphone |
| CPU | 6-core: 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores, up to 20% faster than A19 Pro |
| Sustained performance | 40% more than A19 Pro |
| GPU | 7-core, up to 40% faster graphics than A19 Pro |
| Neural Engine | Dual 16-core, 32 cores total, twice the compute of A19 Pro |
| 8-bit floating point | 2x faster than the previous generation |
| Memory bandwidth | 50% more than A19 Pro |
| Packaging | WMCM — Apple describes it as “custom packaging inspired by our M-series chips” |
| Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB |
| Price | iPhone 18 Pro from $1,199; iPhone 18 Pro Max from $1,299 |
| Pre-order | 12 September 2026 |
| On sale | 18 September 2026 in 65+ countries; 25 September in further markets |
| iOS 27 release | 14 September 2026, free, back to iPhone 11 and iPhone SE (2nd generation) |
Apple held its “Surprise and shine” event on 9 September 2026, the first major product launch under John Ternus, who became chief executive on 1 September. The headline silicon is the A20 Pro, which Apple says is the first 2-nanometre processor shipped in a smartphone, built on TSMC's N2 process.
It appears in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, priced from $1,199 and $1,299 with 256 GB of storage and options to 2 TB. Pre-orders open 12 September, with devices on sale 18 September in more than 65 countries and 25 September elsewhere. Apple also unveiled its first foldable, reported by Bloomberg as the iPhone Duo, and set 14 September as the release date for iOS 27.
Moving to 2 nanometres places transistors closer together, which Apple uses to raise performance while cutting power draw at the same time.
The CPU keeps a 6-core layout: two new super cores and four efficiency cores, which Apple describes as up to 20 percent faster than the A19 Pro. Every core carries a dedicated neural accelerator, which Apple frames as reducing latency on AI work. Apple also claims 40 percent more sustained performance than the A19 Pro.
The GPU moves to a 7-core design and is up to 40 percent faster at graphics, with hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
The change that is easiest to overlook is physical. Apple has moved off the InFO_PoP arrangement used in previous generations to WMCM, a wafer-level multi-chip module, describing it as “custom packaging inspired by our M-series chips”.
Under the old design the memory sat stacked directly on top of the processor. WMCM places it alongside instead. The practical consequence is thermal: heat from the chip no longer has to travel through the memory package to escape, which is what drives the throttling that pulls sustained performance down over long workloads. It is the structural reason behind the 40 percent sustained-performance figure.
Apple added a second Neural Engine block. The two 16-core engines give 32 cores in total, and Apple states this delivers twice the compute performance of the A19 Pro.
The neural accelerators also gain 2x faster 8-bit floating-point math. Apple's own description of the target is specific: “advanced AI workloads such as running third-party LLMs on-device”.
Supporting all of it is a 50 percent increase in memory bandwidth, which Apple attributes to “the widest memory interface we've ever shipped in an iPhone”. That figure governs how fast a model can generate text locally, because generation is bound by how quickly weights can be streamed from memory rather than by raw arithmetic.
iOS 27 ships on Monday 14 September as a free update, supporting devices back to the iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE.
Siri AI arrives with it. Apple describes an assistant that has left the old clipped delivery behind for a natural conversational voice, can see what is on screen, keeps the thread of a conversation rather than treating each request as new, and can carry out multi-step tasks inside more than 300,000 third-party apps.
Access to it is drawn tightly. Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, and reporting from TechTimes puts the requirement for the most advanced iOS 27 features at 12 GB of memory — a bar cleared only by the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the foldable. The standard iPhone 18, due in spring 2027, is reported to fall below it. Apple does not publish a memory figure on its own specification pages.
Siri AI launches as a beta in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish following in October. It is not offered to users under 13, and is not launching in the European Union or in China.
| Feature | A19 Pro | A20 Pro | What it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process | 3-nanometer | 2-nanometer, TSMC N2 | Less heat, longer battery life |
| CPU | 6-core | 6-core, 2 super cores | Up to 20% faster |
| GPU | 6-core | 7-core | Up to 40% faster graphics |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | Dual 16-core, 32 total | 2x on-device AI compute |
| Memory bandwidth | Baseline | +50% | Faster local model generation |
| Packaging | InFO_PoP, memory stacked on top | WMCM, memory alongside | 40% more sustained performance |
| Runtime | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Intelligence / Siri AI | Partial | Requires iPhone 15 Pro or newer. The most advanced iOS 27 features are reported to need 12 GB of memory, limiting them to iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the foldable. Not available in the European Union or China at launch, nor to users under 13. |
| Core AI | Yes | The iOS 27 framework for running custom models on device, available across all Apple silicon. Uses CPU, GPU and Neural Engine. |
| Foundation Models framework | Partial | Tied to the Apple Intelligence device requirement. In iOS 27 the on-device model gains vision, and a LanguageModel protocol allows other models to back the same session. |
| llama.cpp via Metal | Yes | Runs on the GPU, so it benefits from the 40% faster GPU and the 50% memory bandwidth increase. |
| MLX | Yes | Also GPU-based on Apple silicon and subject to the same bandwidth gain. |
Yes. Apple says the A20 Pro is the first 2-nanometre processor shipped in a smartphone, built on TSMC's N2 process.
Apple gives up to 20 percent for the CPU, up to 40 percent for graphics, twice the Neural Engine compute, 50 percent more memory bandwidth and 40 percent more sustained performance.
WMCM is a wafer-level multi-chip module. It replaces the InFO_PoP arrangement in which memory sat stacked on top of the processor, placing the memory alongside it instead. Heat escapes more easily, which reduces thermal throttling and underpins Apple's 40 percent sustained-performance claim.
iOS 27 is a free update released on 14 September 2026, supporting devices back to the iPhone 11 and the second-generation iPhone SE.
Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Reporting from TechTimes places the requirement for the most advanced iOS 27 features at 12 GB of memory, which only the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the foldable meet. Apple does not publish a memory figure on its specification pages.
From 14 September 2026 as a beta in English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish in October. It is not offered to users under 13, and is not launching in the European Union or in China.
OnDevice LLM is a private AI assistant that runs entirely on your iPhone — no account, no cloud, and nothing you type leaves the device.
Published 9 September 2026