Apple iPhone X Boasts A11 CPU With 2 Performance Cores, 4 Efficiency Cores, And 3GB RAM

Apple iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith has been combing through recently leaked iOS 11 code to see what kind of nuggets are stored inside, and what he has found so far are references next batch of iPhones. He also found some tidbits relating to Apple's custom A11 system-on-chip (SoC) that is expected to power its forthcoming iPhone X (pronounced iPhone 10) handset.

Based on his findings, Apple is planning to release three iPhone models—an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as followups to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (meaning Apple will skip the usual "s" naming scheme, such as iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus), and the aforementioned iPhone X to honor the 10-year anniversary of the first iPhone released in 2007.
It is a bit interesting that Apple will only outfit the iPhone X with 3GB of RAM when many of today's flagship handsets ship with 4GB or more—ASUS' ZenFone AR is available with as much as 8GB. However it is not all that surprising given Apple's history. The Cupertino outfit seems to do more with less by offering high-end performance and premium experience without winning the specs war with rivals such as Samsung.

As it pertains to the engine that will drive the iPhone X, Troughton-Smith found evidence of Apple's A11 SoC being a six-core chip. The A11 part is expected to run in a 2+4 configuration consisting of two high performance "Mistral" cores and four high efficiency "Monsoon" cores.
All of these cores will be independently addressable. This should provide the iPhone X with a big boost in performance over the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with their A10 Fusion processors, which feature two high performance cores and two high efficiency cores. The added horsepower of the A11 part is likely to help with facial recognition, and performance in general.

Based on previous leaks and rumors, we are expecting the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus to feature similar (if not nearly identical) designs to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, whereas the iPhone X will sport a large organic light emitting diode (OLED) display without a physical home button. Instead, it will use Face ID to authenticate a user's identity.

Apple is holding a press event on September 12 in which it will most likely announce its new iPhone lineup.