TSMC continues to work to complete the development of its 3nm node. If everything goes according to the forecasts of the Taiwanese company, said node will enter the mass production phase at the end of this year. Apple will be one of the main clients of the Taiwanese giant, although according to new information those from Cupertino plan to carry out a gradual adoption of that new node.
According to the source of this news, Apple will start using TSMC’s 3nm node with the Apple A17 SoCa chip that will be implemented in the iPhone 15, whose launch is scheduled for September next year. So far everything is clear, however, an important nuance must be made, and it is said that not all iPhone 15s will use this new SoC manufactured in the 3nm node, but rather that it will be reserved for the Pro and Pro Max models.
This makes sense, since it would fit in with the strategy that Apple plans to follow this year with the iPhone 14, a smartphone that will use two different chips. the Apple A15 in the standard and Max models and the A16 in the Pro and Pro Max models. Apparently this important change would be essential for Apple to be able to face the growing production costs of its SoCs by using more advanced nodes, and without having to skyrocket the price of its terminals.
The same would happen with the iPhone, that is, Apple would use the 3nm node in the A17 SoC, which would be present in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and would keep the A16 SoC, manufactured in the 4nm node, in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max. This would allow the Cupertino giant carry out a more controlled adoption of the 3nm nodeand reduce the impact that a full jump to that node would have on the company.
As for the next-generation Apple M-series SoCs, it is unclear when they will make the leap to TSMC’s 3nm process. Some sources say that we will see it with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, but it seems more likely to me that Apple decides to reserve said node for the next generation models, that is, for the M3 SoC and its derivatives. Keep in mind that the cost of each chip wafer varies depending on the node, and that in the most advanced ones it can skyrocket to levels that are difficult to tolerate, as we told you at the time. If this is confirmed, Apple would not complete the transition to 3nm until 2024.
