There are a lot of big upgrades coming with the iPhone 16’s A18 chip, but there’s one major feature that Apple forgot to tell us about. According to 9to5Mac, the A18 chipset also features the “Secure Exclave” which debuted earlier this year on the Apple M4 chip.
The idea behind the Secure Exclave is to improve user privacy, which is one of the things Apple has been pushing hard the last several years. This new component handles a feature called Secure Indicator Light (SIL), which controls the microphone and camera indicator on the M4-powered iPads.
Microphone and camera indicators have been around since the launch of iOS 14. The goal was to notify users when either of those things was in operation. That way users would know if either of these things was being actively used, and if that wasn’t an intentional act by an app they were actively using it could indicate that they’re being spied on. Or at the very least that one or more apps are abusing their permissions in ways they shouldn’t.
But in the past these indicators were software-based, which could be a problem if malicious actors figured out a way to bypass the triggers. But by routing these features through hardware, the security around those indicators should be a lot more robust.
By routing these features through hardware, the security around those indicators should be a lot more robust.
It’s unclear if the Security Exclave can do anything else, because Apple has kept pretty quiet about it. After all, you wouldn’t want to advertise all your best new security features, because everything you reveal gives bad actors more information to try and bypass them. Which is not something we want happening.
But it’s good to see that Apple is offering its latest security measures on all new devices — regardless of what kind of silicon they utilize. Throw in the new Private Cloud Compute, which helps keep data utilized by AI processing done in the cloud, and it sounds like the iPhone 16 could be the most secure iPhone ever.
iPhone 16 pre-orders open on September 13, ahead of a September 20 release date. You can read our early impressions of the phones in our iPhone 16 hands-on review and iPhone 16 Pro & iPhone 16 Pro Max hands-on review.
More from Tom's Guide
- iPhone 16 has a secret charging upgrade — here’s what you need to know
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cameras — all the new upgrades explained
- Two of the iPhone 16's video features could be coming to older iPhones via iOS 18
