Every year, one of the tentpole features of Apple’s new iPhones is a brand new A-series chip. But this year with A19, Apple is doing something it never has before with its iPhone lineup at launch.
A19 chip comes in three variants across iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro
Unlike recent years, when iPhone updates seemed more iterative (some might say ‘boring’), Apple had a very interesting batch of announcements with its latest iPhones.
The iPhone Air was a big part of that, but it extended to product decisions on iPhone 17 Pro and the base iPhone 17 too.
These more interesting iPhones have drawn attention away from what’s normally a big marketing focus: Apple’s new A-class chip.
But despite the reduced attention A19 is getting, there’s plenty interesting happening there this year too.
Instead of its normal two variants of chips, the A19 is getting three separate iPhone versions.
Here’s what each new iPhone model gets:
- iPhone 17: A19 chip
- iPhone Air: A19 Pro chip with 5-core GPU
- iPhone 17 Pro: A19 Pro chip with 6-core GPU
This is a move Apple has never made with prior chip generations at launch. It has happened before with subsequent updates, such as the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and later iPhone 16e all featuring different versions of the A18 chip. This is the first time, however, that there have been three variations of a chip in a new iPhone lineup launched at the same time.
Apple says that A19 Pro is both faster and more efficient than the A19. It also reportedly packs 12GB of RAM vs. only 8GB on the non-Pro chip.
Though Apple hasn’t confirmed this, the iPhone Air’s chip is likely a binned version of what the iPhone 17 Pro gets.
The one missing GPU core on iPhone Air probably won’t make a difference to most users. But for those wanting the most powerful iPhone possible, iPhone 17 Pro’s full 6-core GPU array combined with its vapor chamber cooling system makes it the clear winner.
Though this is the first time we’re seeing three A-class iPhone chips debut, it likely won’t be the last.
Next year, the iPhone lineup will be shaken up even further, when the iPhone Fold arrives and the base iPhone 18 gets pushed to the following spring.
It seems likely, then, that more than two A20 chips could launch in Apple’s next big iPhone flagships too.
Do the differences between A19 chips matter much to you? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story didn’t include that the iPhone 16, iPhone 16e, and iPhone 16 Pro all used different versions of the A18 chip. Those phones were launched at different times. What’s new is that Apple is offering three versions of the A19 chip at the same time.
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