iPhone 17: Newer 3nm Technology Expected for A19 and A19 Pro Chips

Apple's next-generation A19 chip for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air and A19 Pro chip for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be manufactured with TSMC's latest, third-generation 3nm process called "N3P," analyst Jeff Pu said today, in a broader tech-related research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong.

iPhone 17 Pro Max Smaller Notch Feature
The current A18 and A18 Pro chips for the iPhone 16 lineup are manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process "N3E," while the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models is manufactured with TSMC's first-generation 3nm process "N3B."

"N3P" is considered a process "shrink" compared to N3E, meaning that chips manufactured with the newer process will have increased transistor density. While this comes as no surprise, it means that next year's iPhone 17 models should have modestly improved performance and power efficiency compared to iPhone 16 models.

Previous reports indicated that TSMC would begin mass production of chips built with the N3P process in the second half of 2024.

In 2026, Apple is expected to use TSMC's first 2nm process for A20 chips in iPhone 18 models.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17
Tag: Jeff Pu
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's Platforms State of the Union presentation at WWDC 2025. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...

Top Rated Comments

Aluminum213 Avatar
8 months ago
Just looking at my iPhone 16 pro max makes me sick to my stomach
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AF_APPLETALK Avatar
8 months ago
Omg returning my 16 Pro Max 2 TB and waiting until next year!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goonie4life9 Avatar
8 months ago
That's right, everybody, it's time to get excited for the BEST, MOST powerful iPhone chips that Apple has EVER released in an iPhone! And Apple didn't stop there! These are the FIRST EVER chips built WITH Apple Intelligence BUILT IN! These are truly the pro chips for pros!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradman83 Avatar
8 months ago
The N3E process the A18 and M4 are based on isn't really a performance or efficiency gain over N3B (A17 and M3), it actually has less transistor density and removes some more advanced lithography features. But because it's a slightly simpler process it has a much lower defect rate and is overall much cheaper and easier to produce. The A18 and M4's performance gains come mostly from architectural improvements, including moving from version 8 to version 9 of the ARM ISA.

N3P, the successor to N3E, is supposed to come with both performance and efficiency bumps, so this should make the A19 and M5 worthy successors to the A18 and M4 even if Apple doesn't make as many architectural revisions.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Removebeforeflight Avatar
8 months ago
Let‘s hope, Taiwan still exists in the near future..
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N0ughtsAndCr0sses Avatar
8 months ago
Thin or not, I need something done with the infamous Dynamic Island
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)