by Hartley Charlton
Apple chipmaker TSMC will begin test production of 2nm chips next week ahead of plans to bring the technology to Apple silicon next year, ET News reports.
The trial production run will occur at TSMC's Baoshan plant in northern Taiwan. Equipment designed for 2nm chip production was brought to the facility in the second quarter of this year. Apple is expected to move its custom silicon to the 2nm process in 2025.
The iPhone 15 Pro is powered by the A17 Pro chip, which is manufactured with TSMC's 3nm process. This process allows for more transistors to be packed into a smaller space, delivering improvements in performance and efficiency. Apple's M4 chip, which recently debuted in the new iPad Pro, uses an enhanced version of this 3nm technology. The transition to 2nm chips should bring further improvements, with projected performance gains of 10 to 15 percent and power consumption reductions of up to 30 percent compared to the 3nm process.
TSMC plans to begin mass production of 2nm chips next year and it is believed that the company has been accelerating the process to secure a stable yield before mass production. TSMC remains the only company capable of manufacturing 2nm and 3nm chips at the scale and quality Apple requires. For its 3nm chips, Apple booked all of TSMC's available chipmaking capacity, and the chipmaker plans to triple its production capacity for the node by the end of the year to meet soaring demand. 2nm chips could first appear in 2025's iPhone 17 lineup.
Tags: 2nm, Apple Silicon Guide, ETNews, TSMC
[ 48 comments ]
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Top Rated Comments
gusping
2 days ago at 05:43 am
Can’t wait for the M5 iPad Pro…
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J InTech82
2 days ago at 11:49 am
I can't wait for the M7 iPad Pro
I’m still waiting for the PowerBook G5! Any day now… :rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lkrupp
2 days ago at 06:34 am
For those who blather on about planned obsolescence, get a clue. Obsolescence is part of the evolution of technology. I’m sure the new Apple Silicon will provide the ability for new features and functions that older hardware can’t support. So when new hardware is released that surpasses the old don’t start ragging about how Apple is doing this on purpose to “force” you to buy new gear. It ain’t so.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DavidSchaub
2 days ago at 09:48 am
Intel already moved to Angstrom terminology, and, “2 nm” is much more of a marketing term nowadays bs real “measurement”… shrinking will continue…
Well, Angstrom is just the same kind of marketing term; though Intel actual density increases may not match the 1.8nm and 1.4nm increased density that 18Angstrom and 14Angstrom implies.
Time will tell.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane
2 days ago at 06:26 am
Everybody just keep buying stuff
We promise, full pinky swear, there is finally -- really this time! -- some innovation coming!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thewill586
2 days ago at 06:59 am
For those who blather on about planned obsolescence, get a clue. Obsolescence is part of the evolution of technology. I’m sure the new Apple Silicon will provide the ability for new features and functions that older hardware can’t support. So when new hardware is released that surpasses the old don’t start ragging about how Apple is doing this on purpose to “force” you to buy new gear. It ain’t so.
AI has a high battery power draw. better chips are needed
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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