Rumor Reversal: A20 Chip for iPhones Said to Use TSMC's 2nm Process

Earlier this week, the investment firm GF Securities shared multiple research notes regarding Apple's future chips. In one of these notes, it said the A20 chip for the iPhone 18 series would be manufactured with TSMC's third-generation 3nm process, N3P, and in another it said that the chip would use TSMC's newer 2nm process N2.

a20 chip feature
GF Securities is a large organization with many analysts, and it seems like some wires got crossed. In an email to MacRumors, the firm's lead Apple analyst Jeff Pu has since clarified that he believes the A20 chip will be manufactured with the N2 process, so the information about the chip using the N3P process should be disregarded.

Earlier reports had said the A20 chip would be 2nm, so rumors align again.

This is ultimately good news, as it means the A20 chip should have more substantial performance and power efficiency improvements over the A19 chip.

Of course, the iPhone 18 series is still a year and half away from launching, but at least the record has been set straight on this particular rumor.

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Top Rated Comments

Apple Knowledge Navigator Avatar
5 weeks ago
What happens at 0nm? Do we win a prize?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tipoo Avatar
5 weeks ago

What happens at 0nm? Do we win a prize?
Tech blogs really need to educate more about how much these node names are pure marketing, because someone asks this every single time this comes up as we get down to the single digit nodes. TSMC N7 for example had 36nm fin pitches and 50nm gate widths or the other way around iirc. These are three dimensional objects with sizes on all sides in double digits and there's plenty left to shrink.

Node names USED to mean a minimum feature size, but if that's one feature in a library of thousands of transistors, how much is that really the reality of a chip when every other feature averages many times larger. Density is a better metric in mtr, but you can also trade off density for less thermal hotspotting and higher clocking etc, so it's not always highest is best.

What happens after 2/1nm? They just switch to Angstroms as Intel already will be with 20a and 18a etc.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iPhoneFan5349 Avatar
5 weeks ago

What happens at 0nm? Do we win a prize?
They will use the angstrom as unit of measure and we start again.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Two Appleseeds Avatar
5 weeks ago
Phew! I was freaking out that they still might be running back the 3nm chips for the 18 Pros. Blood pressuring already returning to normal knowing that future efficiency gains are safe and sound
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azentropy Avatar
5 weeks ago

What happens at 0nm? Do we win a prize?
I assume we will go to picometers once it gets to less than 1 nanometer. 1nm = 1000pm
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Channan Avatar
5 weeks ago

What happens at 0nm? Do we win a prize?
No, we move to the negatives. -1nm is after that. It actually creates more space in the phone.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)