TSMC to Begin Mass Producing Apple’s New 3nm Chips This Week, According to Report

Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is said to be kickstarting mass production of the new 3nm chips Apple may be intending on utilizing across many of its upcoming devices.

As per a report from DigiTimes, TSMC is starting to mass produce its next-generation 3nm chip process on Thursday, December 29th. According to its sources, mass production will take place at the company’s Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park. The process is said to be commercial production of its brand new 3nm process. Given that Apple is such a focal customer of TSMC, it’s likely that wide adoption of this new technology is in the Cupertino company’s future.

TSMC is scheduled to hold a ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) on December 29 to mark the start of commercial production of chips using 3nm process technology. The pure-play foundry will also detail plans to expand 3nm chip production at the fab, according to sources at semiconductor equipment companies.

The new report does not confirm nor deny Apple’s intended use of TSMC’s 3nm chip technology. However, there is a good chance we may see the new process tech being used. Early reports claimed that Apple would begin utilizing TSMC’s 3nm chips by the end of 2022. It’s believed that the first big swing into adoption would be to utilize 3nm chips for the upcoming M2 Pro and M2 Max. These are believed to be launching in early 2023. Moreover, the M3 chip is also believed to be based on TSMC’s 3nm technology.

Beyond upgrading its premium in-house chips, TSMC’s 3nm process technology could be seen in upcoming Mac products. It’s said that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro refresh could see the inclusion of M2 Pro chips. Aside from Macs, the iPhone could also see benefits from TSMC’s latest technology. Reports claim that Apple’s A17 Bionic could be based on TSMC’s 3nm chip. Therefore, the iPhone 15 Pro devices could offer more advanced performance thanks to the process technology.

The adoption of 3nm process technology could offer a range of improvements to their respective devices. For instance, the difference 3nm offers over 5nm (which is widely used by Apple) are improvements to power efficiency and performance. 3nm technology could benefit users greatly while also providing strong battery life to their respective devices.

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