3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week

[MacRumors]

Apple's main chip supplier TSMC will kick off mass production of 3nm chips this week, with Apple being the primary customer of the new process, which could first be used in upcoming M2 Pro chips expected to power updated MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.

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.

Article Link: 3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week

 

[lovehateapple]

exciting news! (if true)

 

[MayaUser]

Maybe mass production for the A17 for the fall...only if M2 pro/max will be revealed at WWDC can be on 3nm

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Wow! This is great news! Woo hoo!!! I like the fact we have an exact starting date.

 

[Mega ST]

Very good. I am waiting for the MBP with 3nm chip.

 

[DeLaSoul]

Yay, cat gifs will load even faster

 

[matthewlcx]

If the M2Pro/M2Max is releasing in March 2023, it can not be 3nm, am I right?

 

[Jumpthesnark]

If true, this is great news. Looking forward to hardware with next-gen silicon.

 

[Le0M]

Who knows, perhaps 3nm process will go on Apple Headset first.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Just in time for their VR/AR product.

 

[Le0M]

Just in time for their VR/AR product.

Precisely my though

 

[Jumpthesnark]

If the M2Pro/M2Max is releasing in March 2023, it can not be 3nm, am I right?

If 3nm M2Pro chips are beginning to ramp up production as soon as this week, there's no reason an announcement couldn't come in the spring.

 

[_Spinn_]

Very exciting news!

 

[bLackjackj]

Just in time for their VR/AR product.

Actually it's too late, the project is already past the testing stage

 

[theorist9]

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:
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.

It's well-known, from TSMC's own press releases, that the N4P process (likely used in the A16) is 5 nm, not 4 nm:

TSMC Expands Advanced Technology Leadership with N4P Process|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited

Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C., Oct. 26, 2021 - TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today introduced its N4P process, a performance-focused enhancement of the 5-nanometer technology platform.

pr.tsmc.com

"As the third major enhancement of TSMC’s 5nm family, N4P will deliver an 11% performance boost over the original N5 technology and a 6% boost over N4."

So how much weight should we give to DigiTimes' TSMC reporting when they aren't even aware of something so basic?

And why doesn't MR do some basic fact-checking before posting this stuff? Given that the whole point of this article is to report on a process change, you'd think they want to get the process descriptions right.

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 doesn't make sense. First they say that mass production on the first gen 3 nm chip (N3) starts in a few days, but now they're saying that production on 3 nm is unlikely to ramp up until the next gen 3 nm (N3E) gets underway. This is just screaming out for clarification, yet MR gives us none. Come on guys, how putting some thought into these articles, rather than just cutting and pasting a few quotes from another source (which, incidentally is behind a paywall, preventing us from checking it ourselves)?

 

[bLackjackj]

Well it sucks to be an iPhone 14 Pro owner. USB-C and 3nm for the iPhone 15 Pro. 👌

 

[Kierkegaarden]

Precisely my though

We must have posted the same thought at almost the same time! Yeah, I’ve been thinking that the timing of the 3nm process seemed to line up with their VR/AR product, and this would give them an advantage over the competition. 2023 is shaping up to an interesting year.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Maybe I should wait on the iPhone 16 Pro Max with the more optimized and efficient A18 Bionic based on 3NM.

 

[Vjosullivan]

Very good. I am waiting for the MBP with 3nm chip.

Why? That doesn't seem like a normal criteria for choosing a laptop.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

So if I understand this right? It looks as though the standard 3nm chip will be M2 in nomenclature and reserved for the Macbook Pro, Mac Mini released in spring 2023.

The enhanced 3nm process will therefore be the M3 chip.

 

[ph001bi]

Apple's main chip supplier TSMC will kick off mass production of 3nm chips this week, with Apple being the primary customer of the new process, which could first be used in upcoming M2 Pro chips expected to power updated MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.

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:
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.

Article Link: 3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week

We need a fiction category for anything coming out of Digitimes. They’ve been going on about these M2 chips at 3nm forever. It doesn’t make any sense.

 

[seanmills1020]

I have a friend who works at TSMC. She named her three kids:

• Chip
• Max
• Meg

#kidding

 

[justperry]

Not going to buy anything before they start using angstrom nodes.🤪

Jk, waiting for the newer Mac Mini.

 

[Jr_Mao]

M2 pro in mini is not going to happen.
It’d kill the studio right away.

 

[star-affinity]

M2 pro in mini is not going to happen.
It’d kill the studio right away.

I’ve also been thinking that’s probably unlikely. But do you think they will have a “high end” Mac mini at all? Maybe the M2 is the maximum one will be able to get in the Mac mini.

I hope I’m wrong.