Next-Gen Apple Chip Technology on Track to Reach Production in 2025 - MacRumors
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Next-Gen Apple Chip Technology on Track to Reach Production in 2025

Next-generation 2nm chip technology destined for future Apple devices is on schedule to begin production next year, DigiTimes reports.

Apple Silicon Teal Feature
TSMC chip fabrication facilities will begin installing equipment designed for 2nm chip production in April at the earliest. Apple was the first company to utilize TSMC's initial 3nm technology with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the company is likely to follow suit with the chipmaker's 2nm chips. With production set to begin in 2025, 2nm chips are likely to make their first appearance in Apple devices soon after.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that TSMC had already demonstrated prototype 2nm chips to Apple ahead of their expected introduction in 2025. Apple is said to be closely aligned with TSMC in the race to develop and implement 2nm chip technology, which will surpass their current ‌3nm‌ chips and associated nodes in terms of transistor density, performance, and efficiency.

Today, DigiTimes added that the chip supplier is also believed to be evaluating which of its plants will be the first to produce even more advanced 1.4nm chips in 2027. The company began mass production of its enhanced ‌3nm‌ node, which is likely to appear in Apple devices for the first time later this year, in the fourth quarter of 2023.

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Top Rated Comments

bradman83 Avatar
35 months ago

I guess that blows away any chance that the extremely mediocre upgrade to M3 (especially on the M3 Pro with its reduced performance core counts) was any sort of stopgap due to rumored low N3E yields. Sigh.
An 18% single core performance increase is hardly mediocre. Yes the Pro was hobbled by Apple’s reconfiguration of the chip to a true mid-range model (which affects multicore only) but an 18-20% year-over-year performance increase is nothing to sneeze at. The performance jump from Intel to M1 was a one-time thing. It’s going to be incremental gains from here on out barring a major microarchitectural shift.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
35 months ago
I can't wait... scrolling through Twitter and playing ad-filled mobile games are going to SO fast and snappy now. :cool:
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
35 months ago
This is amazing "stuff"! In my lifetime, I've witnessed electrical engineering go from vacuum tubes > transistors > semiconductors > nano scale microprocessors containing 120 billion transistors. Many accolades to the clever and hard working engineers that gave us this technology.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
35 months ago
Still loving my M1 Max MBP - she's a rocket. I used to switch out Macs every year or two, but I think I'm going to keep this one for 3-4 more years, its so good at what it does.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradman83 Avatar
35 months ago
To be clear, it’s next gen TSMC chip-making technology, not Apple technology. Apple will happily buy the manufacturing capacity to make their chips with it though.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradman83 Avatar
35 months ago

So a techie question: 2025 is 2nm, then it will be 1nm. Where does it go to then?
1nm equals 10 Angstroms. A silicon atom is 1.92 Angstroms (0.192 nm) wide so process nodes cannot go smaller than that (and likely can't get close to that)

Both Intel and TSMC are starting to switch to Angstroms for their process node descriptions - Intel's 20A and 18A are basically 2.0 and 1.8 nm equivalent process nodes, same with TSMC's forthcoming A14 process node (equivalent to 1.4 nm).

Once that limit is reached there are other ways to keep driving performance forward, such as 3D lithography, looking to new materials, or continual improvements to existing process nodes.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)