Apple Silicon Likely to Benefit as TSMC Aims to Launch 2nm Chips by 2025

Apple chip supplier TSMC will begin production of advanced 2nm chips by 2025, in what is likely to contribute to a key future iteration of Apple silicon, Nikkei Asia reports.

tsmc semiconductor chip inspection 678x452
TSMC made the announcement at an industry event on Thursday, explaining that its 2nm technology will be based on "nanosheet transistor architecture." Nanosheet architecture is a totally different chip technology from the FinFET infrastructure used for TSMC's current 5nm chips, delivering significant performance and efficiency improvements. Apple's latest chips, such as the M2 and A15 Bionic, are produced with TSMC's 5nm fabrication process.

TSMC's first 3nm chips are due to begin production in the second half of 2022. Apple could introduce custom silicon chips based on TSMC's ‌3nm‌ process as soon as this year, but other reports claim that the technology is likely to debut with the "M3" and "A17" chips in 2023.

The 2025 timeframe is the first official schedule for the company's 2nm chip production and is highly likely to be used for future Apple silicon chips. The 2nm fabrication process, also known simply as "N2," is expected to offer a 10 to 15 percent speed improvement at the same power or a 25 to 30 percent power reduction at the same speed compared to chips made with the supplier's ‌3nm‌ technology.

Top Rated Comments

HobeSoundDarryl Avatar
19 months ago
Fractions or they start spinning angstroms. There's always a smaller measure to adopt to support a marketing message. And don't let the laws of physics get in the way either. By super-fine hair-splitting, it can sound like whole number generations year over year while actually being only a fraction of what used to be a single generational number.

For example, if we put this in money terms, you would think a penny is as low as money goes. And yet, every gas station you pass adds the charge of 9/10ths of one cent... implying that someone else might bid that down to 8/10ths, 7/10ths, etc. But what if it gets down to 1/10th... then what??? Hello .0099, .0098, .0097, etc. That should buy a hundred years of generational gain claims.

There's always a smaller measure. And even when physics throws up a hard barrier, the fine hair that remains to max- er MIN- out the possibilities could be split into thousanths, ten thousandths, etc. The whole number will sound as familiar as whole numbers in nanometers now even if it is working within the fractional limits of only a single nanometer.

Besides, as others post often, even the current X nanometer process isn't literal. It's just a marketing "puffery" claim, apparently driven by the perceived need of a lower number in spite of the technology not actually representing the claim.


Funny how they call it 2nm while the transistor size or the absolute distance between the transistors is no where near 2 nanometers.
See "magical", "faster than 3090", 5Ge, "biggest network", "fastest network", 5G coverage map, "cool, ocean breeze" in coastal RE no matter how far you are from the coast, remarkable battery life claims, "lose weight without dieting or exercise", "lose 60 pounds in 6 weeks with this one small trick", 'elongation' pill/herbs/formula, how a swamp can become a natural preserve in RE puffery, "this miracle face cream will remove 20+ years of aging", wifi speed claims, broadband speed claims, SSD speed claims, Thunderbolt/USB speed claims, "this ship is unsinkable", diet candy, "It's easy... anyone can do it", "100% fruit- all natural", "I make $XXXXXX per month in only 1 hour per day and you can too", "Get rich quick with absolutely no selling", "The cure-all elixir", "Smoking cigarettes is good for you", "vaping is not as bad as smoking", "free range" <anything>, this bottled water is sourced from <exotic> place, kills 99.9% of germs, appearance of fast food in the ad vs. reality, "this one secret will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams", "valued at several times the price being sought today", "this time, it's different", any easy solution to make you thinner/more beautiful/younger looking, immediate ROI, "get in shape without setting foot in a gym", your personal data is completely secure in the cloud, favorable food label numbers until you check servings per container to realize that only a fraction of the single serving container is considered a serving, "everyone is obsessed with this <product>", "this one simple hack will do <wondrous things>", "free, unlimited fusion energy for all is only about 20-30 years away", just about anything politicians say that goes against common sense or hard science, "turn $2K into $200K in only 2 months", etc. The full list could probably exceed all storage available for the MR website.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0194839 Avatar
19 months ago
I have great great respect for the engineers designing these chips. Very impressive engineering feat.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
headlessmike Avatar
19 months ago

What happens when they hit 1nm? Is it possible to go even smaller?
We start all over again with Ångström, where 1 nm = 10 Å. The big question is how far physics will let us go. Molecular bonds are typically 1-2 Å in length so we can’t go smaller than that with ordinary matter.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iPadified Avatar
19 months ago

I’m British but why aren’t these machines made in the USA? The USA invented all of this in the first place - Silicon Valley, the clue is in the name of course.

Given the huge strategic importance of semiconductors to the modern world, why has a US company become critically dependent on suppliers outside of the USA?

Sadly in a world where Ukraine has happened we can’t be sure that seamless international trade is a given.

I’m not trying to rub anyone’s nose in it, I’m just genuinely curious - and I do realise that I’m going off topic.
Intel has fabs in USA but could not keep up with the nm race. Taiwan and South Korea have simply become very skilled to make state of the art chips. Cost is also an issue.

You raise a good point though and EU are already begun discussions about chip fabs on the European continent to ensure chips enough to feed the EU based industries. They already started before the Ukraine war due to chip shortage. Similarly, EU will ensure internal production of medicine, vaccines and other critical medical goods to not be too dependent on others in a pandemic. Despite UK living EU, I hope we will have a nice collaboration on critical products across the channel.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NBAasDOGG Avatar
19 months ago
Funny how they call it 2nm while the transistor size or the absolute distance between the transistors is no where near 2 nanometers.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mikethemartian Avatar
19 months ago

It would be a really interesting story to find out why cutting edge tech like this isn’t being produced in the USA but in Taiwan.

Why did companies in the USA seemingly drop the ball in not being able to offer this technology?
The machines TSMC uses come from ASML in Europe.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...