Kuo: iPhone 17 to Use 3nm Chip Tech, iPhone 18 Pro Models to Use 2nm

Next year's iPhone 17 series will feature processors made using TSMC's enhanced N3P 3-nanometer chip technology, but only iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026 are likely to use the Taiwanese chipmaker's next-generation 2nm processor technology because of cost concerns, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

3nm apple silicon feature
The terms "3nm" and "2nm" describe generations of chip manufacturing technology, each with its own set of design rules and architecture. As these numbers decrease, they generally indicate smaller transistor sizes. Smaller transistors allow more to be packed onto a single chip, typically resulting in increased processing speed and improved power efficiency.

Last year, Apple adopted 3-nanometer chips for its iPhones and Macs. Both the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 series chips in Macs are built on the 3-nanometer node, an upgrade over the prior 5nm node. This year's iPhone 16 series uses an A18 chip which is built using a second-generation 3-nanometer process, so it is more efficient and faster than the A16 Bionic chip used in the iPhone 15 models.

TSMC plans to start manufacturing 2nm chips in late 2025, and Apple is expected to be the first company to receive chips built on the new process. TSMC is building two new facilities to accommodate 2nm chip production, and working on approval for a third. TSMC generally builds new fabs when it needs to increase production capacity to handle significant orders for chips, and TSMC is expanding in a major way for 2nm technology.

TSMC is investing billions in this new chip technology, while Apple must adapt its chip designs accordingly. As TSMC's largest customer, Apple usually gets priority access to the latest chips. For instance, in 2023, Apple purchased all of TSMC's initial 3-nanometer chip production for its iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This partnership often allows Apple to integrate cutting-edge semiconductor technology into its products before competitors.

In between the ‌3nm‌ and 2nm nodes, TSMC will introduce several new ‌3nm‌ improvements. TSMC has already come out with N3E and N3P chips that are enhanced ‌3nm‌ processes, and there are other chips in the works such as N3X for high performance computing and N3AE for automotive applications.

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Top Rated Comments

DinkThifferent Avatar
13 months ago
Guess i will have to wait until the iPhone 19 pro max then as a worthy replacement for my 3GS
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LenardG Avatar
13 months ago
A month or two ago it was "yeah, iPhone 16 (pro), here it comes, lets upgrade"
A week or two ago it was "iPhone 16 (pro) only has 8GB of RAM, boohoo, will wait for 17, where the pros get more RAM for AI!"
And now "Oh no, iPhone 17 will not get 2nm chips, wait for the iPhone 18!"

And the waiting continues ... :-D
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hoodafoo Avatar
13 months ago
STOP PLAYING GAMES and give us 0nm already!!
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BelgianChoklit Avatar
13 months ago
Guess my next iPhone will be the twentieth anniversary one. Hopefully notchless
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jo-1 Avatar
13 months ago
beware - there will always be progress - that's an intrinsic factor in technology.

BUT there are times when that progress makes quantum leaps like with the M4 in the iPad PRO 2024 or the A12X in the iPad PRO 2018 or the M1 MAX in the MacBook Pro or the S10 in the Apple Watch 10 ...

It is important to understand these leaps in technology for doing an educated decision when buying technology relevant things.

Just completed the Geekbench AI tests on my M4 iPP and the leap in Software from iPadOS 17.6.1 to 18.0 is very impressive - we'll probably see that kind of progress not only in HW but also in future SW while Apple is ironing out the routines to address ML in the new devices.

Here're my results for the M4 ( which is kind of the first generation of the new chips found in future devices )


We can expect not only SW but also HW to improve significantly with the 2 nm process and that will be definitely my next iPhone.

Apple has just begun to optimize SW and HW for ML and with the next generation of iPhone SoCs the leap will be very significant again - probably the biggest leap in efficiency for a long time

edit: The A18 in the current new iPhone shares the NE with the M4 and the new NE will just get better

Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dredlew Avatar
13 months ago
I hope they’re building these facilities in the US or Japan. No need to further incentivize a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)