Apple's Mac and iPhone chips are probably the most powerful chips to date, at 3 nanometers. However, the new report points out that Apple is working hard to develop 3nm next-generation chips, although it is not confirmed, but it is still worth noting considering that Apple has always supported TSMC's advanced manufacturing process.
It is rumored that Apple is already developing a 2nm chip, but it is not clear when it will come out or which devices will be launched for the first time. Apple has adopted 5nm, and the M3 Mac chip and the A17 Pro chip of the iPhone 15 Pro series are both 3nm. More advanced processes allow chips to accommodate more transistors, improving performance and energy consumption, as mid-range products become more demanding and have longer battery life.
Apple's 3nm M3 chip is used in 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops and 24-inch iMac desktops, and the same chip will be used in 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air. The OLED iPad Pro is also expected to use the same chip, making it the fastest iPad yet.
TSMC will produce 2nm in 2025 and has provided samples to customers, so Apple has decided to adopt TSMC 2nm, and other NVIDIA, AMD, etc. are also interested. TSMC said that due to the strong demand for high-performance computing and smart phones, the original plan was to add one more to the two 2nm Kaohsiung, and after the mass production of the three 2nm factories, Kaohsiung will become an important base of TSMC 2nm. Hsinchu Baoshan, which is the earliest to plan a 2nm factory, will decide which one will produce 2nm according to market demand, and recently passed the capital review of Zhongke, and there is also a 2nm factory allocated to TSMC in June, and the 2nm process will fully explode, in addition to meeting market demand, it will also bring benefits to TSMC Electric Energy.