A key component for the iPhone 5SE and iPad Air 3 looks all but confirmed.
Slipped in a lengthy piece profiling Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji, Bloomberg Business revealed the forthcoming smaller iPhone and updated iPad will feature the A9 and A9X chips, respectively.
The word came from the usual "person familiar with the plans," but it matches reports we've heard that the 4-inch iPhone 5SE will have the innards of the iPhone 6S and the iPad 3 will mimic many of the iPad Pro's features.
As you may recall, the iPhone 6S runs the A9 chip and the iPad Pro the A9X. While the new iDevices won't have next-gen processors (the A10 is reserved for the iPhone 7), it's a good sign, especially for the smaller iPhone, that they'll match up chip-wise with the current gen.
The A9 and A9X are Apple's fastest to date, so users should expect speedy execution of even the most taxing tasks.
Apple is expected to host an event on March 15 to unveil the new devices alongside new Apple Watch bands. Rumors indicate the iPhone 5SE and iPad 3 will go on sale two days later, but we'll see if Apple can pull that off.
