3nm M2 Pro Chip for MacBook Pro Reportedly Entering Production Later This Year - MacRumors
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3nm M2 Pro Chip for MacBook Pro Reportedly Entering Production Later This Year

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TSMC will begin production of 3nm chips for Apple by the end of 2022, according to a report this week from Taiwan's Commercial Times. A separate report from the publication claimed that TSMC will begin mass production of 3nm chips in September.

M2 Pro and Max Feature
The report, citing industry insiders, claims that the M2 Pro chip may be the first to use TSMC's advanced 3nm process. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that Apple plans to use the M2 Pro chip in the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models and a high-end Mac mini, which could be announced later this year or in the first half of next year.

Apple's A17 Bionic chip for next year's iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 chip, suitable for future MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models, will also be manufactured based on TSMC's 3nm process, according to the Commercial Times.

DigiTimes also previously reported that TSMC would begin volume production of 3nm chips for Apple in the second half of 2022, including the M2 Pro chip.

Apple transitioning from TSMC's 5nm process to its 3nm process would naturally result in faster performance and improved power efficiency for future Macs and iPhones, which could contribute to longer battery life. The high-end Mac mini and the Mac Pro tower are the only current Macs that have yet to switch over to Apple silicon chips.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tags: 3nm Guide, Commercial Times
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Top Rated Comments

JPack Avatar
JPack
48 months ago

No no, some user here, said to forget any 3nm until later next year 2023
I think even the M2 Max will be under 3nm, not just the M2 pro
TSMC CEO said not to expect revenue from 3nm until 2023, which means it won’t ship to customers until then. The wafer cycle time is more than 3 months, so even if TSMC started today, they wouldn’t be able to ship packaged and tested chips until next year.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
cocky jeremy
48 months ago
Bring back the 17" MacBook Pro!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
gpat
48 months ago
The Macbook Pro is the Mac for which Apple has been showing the most commitment lately, in my opinion.
They really want to win back the creator audience after the 2016-era fiasco.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
48 months ago
Nice to see it is on track. That's always great news.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iAFC Avatar
iAFC
48 months ago
That's the one I'm waiting for, in a purple iMac hopefully!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
JPack
48 months ago

Love when people say things like: "never, no chance, not gonna happen etc." That is a recipe for failure from the start.

In fact, if Intel dropped and TSCM has capacity then it may as well be this year. However, I would assume that M2 Mini and Mac Pro will come first so not sure Apple will want to throw MBP in the mix too. Seeing that Covid messed up the timing for Apple (and others) one could easily expect anything at this point.
TSMC CEO literally said it won’t be this year. It’s not about capacity. The R&D of N3 process was delayed. Mass production of a new process typically starts in the first half of the year. N3 hasn’t started today. Given wafer cycle times take more than 3 months, there is no chance of 3nm shipping this year.

Intel CEO is visiting TSMC this month because they want to postpone Meteor Lake due to design delays. But TSMC wants to continue as planned because they have the capacity.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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