Apple will be the first company to use TSMC ‘s 3-nanometer chips even before manufacturing the A17 processor that it would implement in iPhone 15.
TMSC is already preparing to develop its 3-nanometer chips for various companies in the technology sector, but Apple will be the first to take advantage of this technology with the release of M2 Pro, a more powerful variant of its processor for the13-inch MacBook Pro and the redesigned MacBook Air that were released in early 2022.
As the Taiwanese newspaper Commercial Times points out , the semiconductor maker is already involved in developing 3nm chips for firms like Super Micro, Huida, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Broadcom , to name a few. However, Apple will be the first to receive such technology for the M2 Pro , which is expected to be available with new Mac models later this year.
TMSC sticks to your original plan
Despite previous reports suggesting that TMSC would delay production of its 3nm chips due to external factors such as the war between Russia and Ukraine or global inflation, which have caused demand for technological equipment such as smartphones and computers to weaken, this The report suggests the expansion of these components will go according to the original plan.
This estimate is produced because, although there may be a slowdown in demand for data centers and high-performance computing, as well as an excess of inventory in the semiconductor production chain , historical data suggest that, when recessions occur of this type, the manufacturers of these components usually accelerate the development of new chips.
Apple will be the first to benefit from 3nm chips
The report mentions that Apple would implement these 3nm semiconductors in the M2 Pro even earlier than the A17 Bionic expected to be integrated in the iPhone 15 and its various models in 2023.
In this way, Apple would be making a leap from the 5nm technology present in its A15 processors -and probably also in A16- to that of 3nm with A17 , which would also be implemented in the future chips that the company is preparing: the M3 for iPad and Mac.