TSMC Reported to Manufacture M3 and A17 Chips for Macs and iPhone 15 Pro

Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is reportedly on board to manufacture the M3 chip for Macs and the A17 chip for the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023. Both chips are said to be based on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process referred to as N3E.

Apple has yet to officially begin shipping the iPhone 14 Pro and yet the industry is already looking forward. As reported by Nikkei Asia (via MacRumors) TSMC will begin manufacturing the M3 and A17 chips ahead of the device’s respective launches throughout 2023. These will be the first Mac and iPhone devices to begin utilizing a 3nm chip.

It’s unclear which Mac products will be the first to feature the M3 chip. Previously, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that a new iMac featuring the M3 could release in 2023. Nikkei Asia now states that 2023 could see Apple continue the trend of integrating its latest A-series chip into the Pro models of its latest iPhone. This year, the iPhone 14 Pro models are powered by Apple’s A16 chipset while the standard models feature the last generation’s A13.

Utilizing TSMC’s 3nm process, Apple’s future products could see the benefits of improved performance. The other major benefit of transitioning over to N3E is battery efficiency. Prior to the big switch to TSMC’s second-generation process, Apple’s upcoming iPad is reported to be switching to TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process. The report doesn’t clarify which models will be the first to debut the new process.

Previous reports did claim that TSMC would be working on its second-generation 3nm process for future M3 products, giving even more credibility to the latest report. It’s been said that production is to begin later this year.