TSMC preparing 3nm chip soon #apple #a17 #m2pro #tsmc
0The next generation 3nm mobile processor node will soon be moved to
volume production, said representatives of the Taiwanese foundry TSMC, but
its enhanced N3E version won't be in phone chipsets before Apple rolls in the
iPhone 15 Pro models, reports local publication Digitimes.
According to TSMC's speaking at the Q2 earnings call, "N3E will further
extend our N3 family with enhanced performance, power and yield. We
observed a high level of customer engagement at N3E, and volume
production is scheduled for around one year after about this time next
year.
Qualcomm's best thing, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that will be in Galaxy
S23 phones this winter, won't be able to take advantage of the 3nm process
and will still be a 4nm affair, leaving the 3nm node for the Snapdragon 8 Gen
3 slated for en masse usage in 2024 phones.
Ditto for the world's largest phone chipset maker MediaTek which will only
issue 3nm processors made by TSMC towards the tail end of 2023, so that
leaves only Apple as a large customer for TSMC mobile
chipset production node, likely for the eventual A17 processor.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro specs to expect
● 3nm Apple A17 processor
● 48MP main camera
● 12MP ultrawide camera with 1.4 micron pixels
● Punch-hole OLED display
● 6x periscope zoom camera
Since rumors point that Apple will be embarking on a processor fragmentation
spree with the iPhone 14 series - 5nm A15 for the iPhone 14 and 14 Max, but
4nm A16 for the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max - the outcome next year may
be that it will equip only the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro with a 3nm
Apple A17 processor.
Thus, according to TSMC's N3E production schedule, Apple will be the main
customer of TSMC's process manufacturing in 2023, and the foundry is
expected to fulfill considerable 3nm chip orders for multiple customers in
2024," report the industry sources.
Thus, the first major phones with the brand new 3nm processors are expected
to be the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max with their brand spanking new
periscope cameras, two major differentiators that will push them quite a bit
ahead of the 2023 pack, and not only among iPhones.