Based on an internal build of iOS 13, 2019 iPhones will include an R1 sensor coprocessor, adding support for more sensors than the existing M-series coprocessor
Apple is planning to add a new coprocessor, codenamed both “Rose” and “R1,” to the A13 series chips in its upcoming iPhones set to debut on Tuesday.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple's fall launch was already framed around silicon: the three-model iPhone 11 lineup ships entirely on the A13 chip, whose six-core design promises 30% better efficiency than the A12 per the A13 Bionic deep dive. The R1 report adds a new layer to that story — a second, smaller processor inside the same phones, codenamed Rose, dedicated purely to reading sensors.
That follows a template Apple has used before with the M-series motion coprocessors, but the related coverage shows where it leads: by iOS 14, Apple was opening another iPhone 11 chip, the U1, to developers through its Nearby Interaction framework. The R1 looks like the next step in turning phone sensors into a programmable platform rather than a background function.
First-order effects
- The iPhone 11 generation carries two tiers of Apple-designed silicon — the A13 application processor plus an R1 sensor hub — so motion, location, and other sensor data can be processed without waking the main CPU, compounding the A13's efficiency advantage on battery life.
Second-order effects
- The U1 precedent suggests the R1's sensor support is groundwork for developer exposure: once Apple opens coprocessor capabilities through frameworks like Nearby Interaction, app makers gain inputs no rival handset exposes as cleanly, tightening the iOS ecosystem's hardware differentiation.
- With iOS 14 code pointing to an iPhone 9 and 9 Plus reusing the A13 Bionic, the R1-era silicon architecture would propagate down into cheaper models, extending Apple's sensor-processing lead across the price range rather than confining it to flagships.
Third-order effects
- If every new capability gets its own small processor before it gets a public API, Apple's chips keep fragmenting into a main SoC plus domain-specific companions — a heterogeneous design that competitors building general-purpose flagship SoCs must either match piece by piece or concede as an efficiency and feature gap.
The trend: Smartphone silicon is splitting into a fast main processor surrounded by dedicated coprocessors for sensing and positioning, each graduating from internal plumbing to developer platforms.