|
|
|
www.design-reuse-embedded.com |
|
Apple will be first to receive 3nm chips from TSMC, but not for the device you're thinking of
www.phonearena.com, Aug. 21, 2022 –
The world's leading foundry is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited (TSMC). Both it and Samsung are shipping chips this year made using their 3nm process node. The smaller the process node, the higher the transistor count in chips. With the iPhone 14 series expected to be released around the second week of September, Apple will use the 4nm A16 Bionic to power the expensive Pro models while the currently used 5nm A15 Bionic chip will be used on the non-Pro models.
Samsung has already started shipping chips made with its 3nm process node
The reason why this is important is that the larger the transistor count, the more powerful and energy-efficient a chip is. Samsung Foundry has already started shipping out 3nm chips this year, but only for cryptocurrency miners. TSMC will also ship 3nm chips this year and with Apple the firm's largest customer, you would expect the tech giant to be the first to receive N3 chips from TSMC when they start shipping later this year. N3 is the designation for TSMC's first generation of 3nm chips.
According to Taiwan's Commercial Times (via Seeking Alpha), Apple will indeed be TSMC's first 3nm customer but you will not find 3nm SoCs in the iPhone 14 Pro models. The report from the Commercial Times suggests that Apple's first 3nm chip will be the M2 Pro chip followed by next year's A17 Bionic SoC for the iPhone 15 Pro models. Yes, that's right. Apple is expected to continue to employ its newest Application Processor (AP) on its more expensive premium models only while the non-Pro units are stuck with tech that is a generation old..
Back
Contact Us
Partnership Offers