Apple Ditched Next-Gen iPhone Chip For ‘Advanced Graphics’ Due To Rare Mistake

A new report from The Information, which highlighted the stressful workload overwhelming employees at Apple, reveals the technology giant may have scrapped a next-generation GPU from the iPhone 14 Pro due to an “engineering mistake” that only surfaced late in development. 

It states that engineers working on the project had been “too ambitious” with features, which resulted in prototypes using up much more power than the simulated estimates expected. 

According to 9to5Mac, the GPU would have been too much of a drain on the smartphone’s battery life, and was at risk of incurring thermal issues. As such, it was eventually scrapped from the iPhone 14 lineup. 

The iPhone 14 Pro GPU makes use of a similar core to that found in the A15 chip from the iPhone 13 Pro, with a major difference being a 50% higher memory bandwidth for the newer iteration. 

Whereas, the rumored new GPU would have allowed for more advanced features in the device, such as hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which would allow for advanced, immersive 3D graphics.

The Information describes the mistake, which led to the idea being dropped, as “unprecedented in the group’s history.” 

As per the PC Mag Encyclopedia, ray tracing often refers to “a rendering method that simulates light reflections, refractions, and shadows,” which can help make a 3D digital object appear more photorealistic.

It appears the firm’s GPU division is suffering from brain drain, with many of the company’s top chip engineers leaving the company. One of them, top CPU designer Gerard Williams III, even founded his own startup, dubbed Nuvia, which is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with Apple.

[via Hypebeast and 9to5Mac, cover image via Nguyen Quang | Dreamstime.com]