Tag: 3nm
3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week
According to the new report by DigiTimes, TSMC will start mass production of its next-generation 3nm chip process on Thursday, December 29, in line with reports from earlier in the year that said 3nm mass production would begin later in 2022. From the report:
TSMC is scheduled to hold a ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) on December 29 to mark the start of commercial production of chips using 3nm process technology. The pure-play foundry will also detail plans to expand 3nm chip production at the fab, according to sources at semiconductor equipment companies.
Apple currently uses TSMC’s 4nm process in the A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro series but could jump to 3nm as soon as early next year. A report in August claimed the upcoming M2 Pro chips would be the first to be based on the 3nm process. The M2 Pro chip is expected to debut first in updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros early next year and possibly updated Mac Studio and Mac mini models.
Later in 2023, according to another report, the third generation of Apple silicon, the M3 chip, and the A17 Bionic for the iPhone 15, will be based on TSMC’s enhanced 3nm process, which has yet to be made available. According to the DigiTimes report today, citing industry sources, production of 3nm process chips is “unlikely to ramp up” until production of the enhanced version gets underway.
This article, “3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
Nvidia and Apple set to be first customers for TSMC’s United States made 3nm chips
Apple Supplier TSMC to Produce 3nm Chips at Arizona Plant
Speaking to reporters on Monday in Taipei, Morris Chang said the 3-nanometre plant would be located at the same Arizona site as the 5-nanometre plant.
“Three-nanometre, TSMC right now has a plan, but it has not been completely finalized,” Chang, who has retired from TSMC but remains influential in the company, told Reuters. “It has almost been finalized – in the same Arizona site, phase two. Five-nanometre is phase one, 3-nanometre is phase two.”
Apple is rumored to be moving its custom silicon to the 3nm process starting with the M2 Pro or M3 chip. Both Apple’s M3 chip for Macs and A17 chip for iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to be manufactured based on TSMC’s enhanced 3nm process. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman has said he expects the M2 Pro to be used in updates next year to the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as a high-end Mac mini.
The move to a more advanced process typically results in improved performance and power efficiency, enabling faster speeds and longer battery life on future Macs and iPhones. According to TSMC, 3nm technology, also known as N3, will offer up to 70% logic density gain, up to 15% speed improvement at the same power, and up to 30% power reduction at the same speed when compared to its predecessor. The company says it is targeting volume production in the second half of this year.
This article, “Apple Supplier TSMC to Produce 3nm Chips at Arizona Plant” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
AMD CEO plans to negotiate 2nm & 3nm chip supplies with TSMC soon
Apple’s First 3nm Chips for MacBook Pro Expected to Enter Production This Year
“Backend firms are upbeat about demand for the upcoming MacBook chips, which will be built using TSMC’s 3nm process technology, with production set to kick off later this year, according to industry sources,” reads a paywalled preview of a DigiTimes report.
TSMC is unlikely to generate substantial revenue from 3nm chip production overall until at least the first quarter of 2023, according to DigiTimes.
This information lines up with a report last week from Taiwan’s Commercial Times, which said TSMC would begin production of 3nm chips for Apple by the end of 2022. That report claimed that Apple’s first 3nm chip may be the M2 Pro chip for Macs and added that the A17 Bionic chip in next year’s iPhone 15 Pro models would also be a 3nm chip.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman expects the M2 Pro chip to be used in the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, and in a new high-end Mac mini that would replace the current Intel-based configuration. Gurman believes that Apple plans to announce multiple new Macs at an October event, but it’s not entirely clear if this would include new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models or if Apple will wait to announce its first Macs with 3nm chips in 2023.
The entire M1 series of chips and the standard M2 chip are built on a variation of TSMC’s 5nm process. Apple’s transition to 3nm chips would unsurprisingly result in improved performance and power efficiency in upcoming Macs and iPhones, as Apple seeks to preserve its performance-per-watt lead over competitors like Intel.
This article, “Apple’s First 3nm Chips for MacBook Pro Expected to Enter Production This Year” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums