A new report indicates that Apple has begun production of the A15 chipset for the iPhone 13, suggesting that the phone is on track to launch later this fall. While new details on the A15 or iPhone 13 aren't revealed in this latest update, it does show that Apple is on schedule for a normal release this year.
2021 has proven to be a tricky year for tech companies. The ongoing computer chip shortage has resulted in production issues across the board, as evident by lacking availability of GPUs game consoles, and more. Even Apple itself has reportedly been hit by the shortage, with an April report claiming the company was forced to stop certain production steps for its new iPad and MacBook. This raised concern that Apple would also be faced with delays for the upcoming iPhone 13, but thankfully, that doesn't appear to be the case.
On May 26, DigiTimes reported that production has officially started for the iPhone 13's new A15 processor. Production is being handled by TSMC (the chip production company Apple has used for years), with DigiTimes noting that demand for the A15 will "surpass that for its predecessor last year in scale." Starting production now means the iPhone 13 is likely on track to launch in September — a nice bit of reassurance following the delayed October launch of the iPhone 12 in 2020.
All The iPhone 13 Rumors So Far
When the iPhone 13 comes out in a few months, it's expected to deliver a mix of old and new compared to the iPhone 12 lineup. There will likely be four models once again — this time consisting of the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max. All four phones will be powered by the A15 chip, which will likely offer minor improvements to performance and battery efficiency. One of the biggest upgrades should be the introduction of 120Hz refresh rates for the displays, though that's anticipated to be exclusive to the two Pro variants.
Other changes will include smaller notch sizes for all four phones, brand new camera hardware for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and a new storage option that goes all the way up to 1TB. Combined with all of the expected changes coming with iOS 15, that should result in the iPhone 13 series being a force to be reckoned with.
As for when shoppers will be able to go out and buy an iPhone 13 for themselves, a September release now seems very likely. Previous iPhone launches suggest Apple will hold an announcement event in the second week of September, with sales following a couple of weeks later. It's hard to say for sure this early on, but with the A15 now in production, it sure does look like the new iPhone will come out when it's supposed to.
Source: DigiTimes