apple silicon: a19 pro chip puts ai first, shaking up component suppliers

2025-09-22 general

Cupertino, Monday, 22 September 2025.
apple’s a19 pro chip marks a strategic shift. by 2025, apple aims to control iphone core chips, prioritizing ai workloads. this reduces reliance on nvidia, broadcom, and samsung. the a19 pro features neural accelerators in each gpu core. apple’s vp tim millet notes this control allows innovations beyond off-the-shelf components. the new c1x modem is twice as fast as the c1, using 30% less energy than qualcomm’s iphone 16 pro modem. this move signals apple’s deep focus on ai and mobile performance.

a19 pro chip performance and architecture

The A19 Pro, codenamed Thera, features a 6-core CPU with two performance cores and four efficiency cores [8]. The performance cores clock up to 4.26 GHz, while the efficiency cores run at 2.60 GHz [8]. The chip incorporates a 16-core Neural Engine and Neural Accelerators integrated into each GPU core, enhancing machine learning capabilities [8]. It also boasts enhanced cache configurations, including 16MB of L2 cache for performance cores, 6MB for efficiency cores, and 32MB of system-level cache [8]. These enhancements allow the A19 Pro to deliver up to 40% better sustained performance compared to its predecessor, the A18 Pro [8].

iphone 17 series and market impact

Apple’s new iPhone lineup, including the iPhone Air and the iPhone 17 series, launched on September 19, 2025 [1][3]. The iPhone 17 starts at $799, positioning it $200 cheaper than the iPhone Air and $300 less than the iPhone 17 Pro [3]. Apple is increasing production of the standard iPhone 17 due to strong pre-orders [3]. JPMorgan Chase has already increased Apple’s target stock price to $280, citing strong early demand for the iPhone 17 series and anticipating increased iPhone revenue and profits over the next two years [5].

component supplier shifts and strategic implications

Apple’s move to control core chip design impacts suppliers like Qualcomm [1]. Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies, suggests Apple’s modem might not match Qualcomm’s throughput yet, but offers better power efficiency [1]. The C1X modem is reportedly twice as fast as the C1 and uses 30% less energy than the Qualcomm modem in the iPhone 16 Pro [1]. This strategic shift aligns with Apple’s broader efforts to reduce reliance on external suppliers and enhance its competitive edge through in-house innovation [1].

broader ai hardware landscape and talent acquisition

As Apple strengthens its AI capabilities, other tech giants are also making strategic moves [2]. Nvidia is investing $5 billion to acquire Intel shares [2]. Meanwhile, OpenAI is aggressively recruiting Apple engineers, with over 20 hardware engineers joining OpenAI in 2025 alone, compared to 10 in 2024 [6]. OpenAI is planning to launch its first hardware devices, including smart speakers and smart glasses, between late 2026 and early 2027, intensifying competition in the AI hardware market [4][6].

manufacturing and geopolitical factors

The A19 Pro chip is manufactured by TSMC using their 3-nanometer node [1]. Tim Millet from Apple expressed enthusiasm for TSMC’s expansion into U.S. manufacturing, highlighting the importance of supply chain diversity [1]. This move could mitigate potential risks associated with tariffs, such as the 100% tariff on chips from companies not manufacturing domestically, announced in August 2025 [1]. Apple has increased its U.S. spending commitment to $600 billion over the next four years [1].

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ai chips apple silicon