According to The Information, Apple planned a big generational boost for the graphics capabilities of the iPhone 14 Pro, but was forced to reject plans for the new GPU late in production due to “unprecedented” errors.
The Information claimed in a paywall story that Apple engineers were “too ambitious” in adding new features to the graphics processor built for the iPhone 14 Pro, including ray tracing – a lighting method used to provide a higher level of realism in games. This meant that the iPhone 14 Pro prototype drew far more power than intended, compromising the device’s battery life and thermal management.
According to numerous people with first-hand knowledge of the incident who spoke to The Information, Apple identified the problem in the iPhone 14 Pro’s GPU late in the device’s development cycle, forcing it to quickly pivot to revert substantially to the GPU from the previous year’s iPhone 13 series.
The incident is said to be unprecedented in Apple’s chip design history, and it is the reason why the iPhone 14 Pro displays only minor increases in graphics performance compared to previous iPhone generations.
The blunder caused Apple to restructure its graphics processor team and remove some managers from the project, including key players who aided Apple’s development as a chip design leader.
According to the source, Apple’s chip design team has had to deal with a loss of talent in recent years, with the business losing dozens of important personnel to other silicon design companies since 2019, as well as interpersonal feuds and disputes with chip startups.
