Four unnamed models of iPhone have been uncovered in the tvOS 17 beta, giving us an idea of what specs to expect from the iPhone 15 series, while another leaker has claimed the iPhone 15 Pro will come with a solid 6GB of RAM and an extra GPU core.
Apparently, these phones have been visible since the very first beta version but went mostly unnoticed until tweeted out by AppleDBdev’s @aaronp613. The beta software references four devices: iPhone 15,4, iPhone 15,5, iPhone 16,1 and iPhone 16,2. While that seems a little confusing at first, it starts to make sense when you know how Apple labels existing iPhones in the code.
4 unreleased iPhone models were added in tvOS 17 beta 1 but were not noticed until now. They were removed in tvOS 17 beta 5:iPhone15,4iPhone15,5iPhone16,1iPhone16,2 https://t.co/pL1OnAOQZXAugust 9, 2023
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are down as iPhone 14,7 and iPhone 14, 8 — since they’re running on the same A15 Bionic chip as the previous generations. Meanwhile, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are listed as iPhone 15,2 and iPhone 15,3, since they use the A16 Bionic.
By that logic, the tvOS code implies there are two devices running on an A16 Bionic, and two chips running on the A17 Bionic. While it doesn’t specify which devices are which, it gels with the rumors we’ve heard so far, which claim that the new 3nm A17 Bionic will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max — a trend that began last year when the iPhone 14 was released with an A15.
The code also contains references to an iPhone 14,1 and iPhone 14,9, which are rather mysterious. The iPhone 14,1 is the real head scratcher, because previous A15 devices started at iPhone 14,2. The iPhone 14,9 could easily be an upcoming device, though which one isn’t clear since the iPhone SE 3 and Apple TV 4K both run on A15 Bionic chips.
iPhone 15 Pro specs leaked
Onto the iPhone 15 Pro, with a new rumor from leaker URedditor detailing a number of internal specs that we may see when the phone launches later this year. The main detail is that the phone will apparently run on 6GB of RAM for an additional year, despite early rumors claiming that we may see the amount of memory increase to 8GB.
Apple A17 - t8130 - Coll6 CPU Cores + 6 GPU Cores3.70 GHz6GB LPDDR5 DRAM - Micron/SamsungTSMC 3nm ProcessLPDDR = Low Power Double Data Rate SDRAMThe A17 is used by both the D83 and D84, also likely planned for D47 and D48 (16 series), as the D9x will use t8140 (A18).August 9, 2023
URedditor notes that they’ve only seen evidence of a 6GB iPhone 15 Pro so far, noting that the possibility of an 8GB model is “unlikely, but maybe not impossible."
That's a stark contrast to the best Android phones, which regularly come with 8GB and 12GB of RAM and have done so for a good few years. The difference there is that there is a slight disconnect between the phone’s hardware and Android itself, and the extra RAM is usually needed to ensure smooth operation. Since Apple is responsible for the development of the iPhone and iOS, it can ensure the two can work more efficiently together — requiring less RAM in the process.
On top of this, URedditor claims that the A17 Bionic could have a sixth GPU core, which is one more than the A16 Bionic had to offer. The number of CPU cores will apparently remain static at six, but the chip is said to offer a maximum clock speed of 3.7GHz. That’s a bit of a jump from the A16 Bionic’s 3.46GHz maximum clock speed.
Combining all that with the new 3nm process, which should enhance performance and power efficiency, it sounds like the A17 Bionic could be quite the powerhouse. Plus, with the bigger battery that’s rumored to be coming, both the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max could see a major improvement in longevity.
You can read more about the upcoming iPhone slate in our iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max hubs.
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