The chip powering the next-generation iPhone will reportedly be based on a "4nm" process, an even smaller process compared to the 5nm process used in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming report from DigiTimes.
Last year, Apple adopted a 5nm process with the A14 Bionic chip in the latest iPad Air and the iPhone 12 lineup. With the iPhone 13, it used an enhanced iteration of the 5nm process. For the iPhone 14, the report claims Apple and its chipmaking partner TSMC are looking to adopt a "4nm" process for the A16 Bionic, the likely name for the chip powering the next-generation iPhone.
A smaller process reduces a chip's physical footprint and offers improved performance and enhanced energy efficiency. A report yesterday by The Information claimed that TSMC and Apple are facing technical challenges in producing a 3nm chip, possibly being a reason the iPhone 14 will feature a "4nm" process instead.
Separate reports from earlier in the year have suggested that Apple has booked all of TSMC's production capacity for the 3nm process, which could instead debut in the iPhone 15 and next-generation Apple silicon Mac computers in several years.
With the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro already released, we now await what Apple has in store for the iPhone 14. While we're still a little under a year away from its launch, rumors suggest that the iPhone 14 will feature one of the most significant iPhone redesigns of the past several years. Get caught up on the latest rumors about Apple's next-generation iPhone using our roundup.
Update: While the DigiTimes report said "Apple will likely adopt TSMC's 4nm process," TSMC refers to the process as "N4P" and describes it as a "third major enhancement of TSMC's 5nm family."
Hate to burst everyone's bubble but there is nothing on these chips that is actually 4nm in dimensions just like the current 5-6-7nm processes that every chip manufacturer is making. It's all a historical node naming convention.
The 2022 iPhones and Macs may feature chips built on the 3nm process, as Apple's leading chip supplier, TSMC, is planning to begin mass production for 3nm chips destined for Apple in the second half of next year, according to a preview of an upcoming report by DigiTimes. The paywalled preview of the full report, which will be published tomorrow, reads: TSMC is on track to move its 3nm...
Monday October 4, 2021 3:57 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple has managed to ramp up chip orders for its new iPhone 13 lineup by reducing equivalent orders for the older-generation iPhone models that the company still sells, according to a new DigiTimes report.
Apple has scaled down its chip orders for older-generation iPhones, while ramping up wafer starts at TSMC for its iPhone 13, the sources said. Apple has also not made any changes to its chip ...
Apple has booked the initial production capacity of 4nm chips with long-time supplier TSMC for its next-generation Apple silicon, according to industry sources cited in a new report today from DigiTimes.
From today's report:
Apple has already booked the initial capacity of TSMC's N4 for its new-generation Mac series, the sources indicated. Apple has also contracted TSMC to make its...
Friday November 5, 2021 6:44 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The Information's Wayne Ma today shared alleged details about future Apple silicon chips that will succeed the first-generation M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, which are manufactured based on Apple chipmaking partner TSMC's 5nm process.
The report claims that Apple and TSMC plan to manufacture second-generation Apple silicon chips using an enhanced version of TSMC's 5nm process, and the chips...
Apple supplier TSMC is preparing to produce 3nm chips in the second half of 2022, and in the coming months, the supplier will begin production of 4nm chips, according to a new report from DigiTimes. Apple had previously booked the initial capacity of TSMC's 4nm chip production for future Macs and more recently ordered TSMC to begin production of the A15 chip for the upcoming iPhone 13,...
TSMC, Apple's main chip supplier, is on track to begin risk production of a 3-nanometer fabrication process in the second half of this year, when the foundry will be capable of processing 30,000 wafers built using the more advanced technology, according to a new report today (via DigiTimes). TSMC reportedly plans to expand its 3nm process capacity to 55,000 units monthly in 2022, thanks to...
Apple will launch an iPad next year featuring a processor based on chipmaking partner TSMC's next-generation 3-nanometer process, according to a new report today from Nikkei Asia.
Apple and Intel are testing their chip designs with TSMC's 3-nanometer production technology, according to several sources briefed on the matter, with commercial output of such chips expected to start in the second...
Apple chip supplier TSMC is planning to manufacture chips with a 2nm fabrication process by 2024, according to Nikkei Asia.
TSMC plans to build a new factory on 50 acres of land for two-nanometer chips in Hsinchu, Taiwan, scheduled to begin manufacturing operations in 2024. Construction has been cleared to begin in early 2022, with equipment being installed in 2023.
For context, if Apple...
Apple chip supplier TSMC has confirmed that it will begin mass production operations at its new factory in Arizona in 2024, Nikkei Asia reports.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu announced that the company's $12 billion factory in Phoenix, Arizona, which is currently under construction, will begin mass production in the first quarter of 2024. While the 2024 timeframe had previously been rumored by Bloom...
Tuesday November 23, 2021 7:37 pm PST by Eric Slivka
Apple's main chip manufacturing partner TSMC will beginning producing Apple's first in-house 5G modem chips for the iPhone in 2023, according to a report from Nikkei Asia. The move, which has been under development for several years and enhanced by Apple's 2019 acquisition of the majority of Intel's modem business, will allow Apple to shift away from Qualcomm as a supplier for the important chips ...
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