By Hartley Charlton
Apple chipmaker TSMC is making progress on 2nm and 1.4nm chips that will likely power future generations of Apple processors, DigiTimes reports.
The timing of mass production of 2-nm and 1.4-nm chips has apparently already been determined: trial production 2 -nm node will begin in the second half of 2024. Notably, TSMC's new plant in Arizona will also join the 2nm manufacturing process. In 2027, facilities in Taiwan will begin to shift to 1.4nm chip production.
TSMC's first 1.4nm node is officially called “A14” and will follow the 2nm “N2” chips. Volume production of the N2 is scheduled for late 2025, followed by the advanced N2P node in late 2026.
Historically, Apple has been one of the first companies to introduce the new, modern node. chip manufacturing technologies. For example, it was the first company to use TSMC's 3nm process with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and Apple will likely follow suit with the chipmaker's future nodes. Apple's most advanced chip designs have historically appeared in the iPhone and then made their way into the iPad and Mac lines. With all the latest information in mind, here's what the future of iPhone chip technology is expected to look like:
- iPhone XR and XS (2018): A12 Bionic (7nm, N7)
- iPhone Series 11 (2019): A13 Bionic (7 nm, N7P)
- iPhone Lineup 12 (2020): A14 Bionic (5nm, N5).
- iPhone 13 Pro (2021): A15 Bionic (5nm, N5P).
- iPhone 14 Pro (2022): A16 Bionic. (4 nm, N4P)
- iPhone 15 Pro (2023): A17 Pro (3nm, N3B)
- iPhone 16 Pro (2024): “A18” (3nm, N3E)
- “iPhone 17 Pro” (2025): “A19” (2nm, N2)
- “iPhone 18 Pro” (2026): “A20 “(2 nm, N2P)
- “iPhone 19 Pro” (2027): “A21” (1.4 nm, A14)
Apple's M1 series of silicon chips are based on the A14 Bionic processor and use TSMC's N5 node, while the M2 and M3 series use N5P and N3B respectively. The S4 and S5 Apple Watch chips use N7, the S6, S7 and S8 chips use N7P, and the latest S9 chip uses N4P.
Each successive TSMC node surpasses its predecessor in transistor density and performance. and efficiency. Late last year, it turned out that TSMC had already shown prototypes of 2nm chips to Apple ahead of their expected release in 2025.
Tags: Apple Silicon Guide, DigiTimes, TSMC[ 49 comments ]
