Apple will reportedly be the first company to receive chips manufactured using TSMC 's 2-nanometer process .
Originally captured by Korean website gamma0burst and posted on Twitter by hacker Revegnus (@Tech_Reve), the information is presented in detail, detailing the employee's previous and current employment at Apple.
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Part of the slide says “TS5nm, TS3nm, working on TS2nm,” which refer to the different manufacturing processes Apple has adopted for past, current, and future chips. The terms “3nm” and “2nm” refer to the specific architecture and design rules TSMC uses for a series of chips. Reducing the node size results in smaller transistors, allowing more to be integrated into each chip. This results in increased speed and lower power consumption.
Rumors have been circulating that TSMC has begun developing more advanced 1.4-nanometer chips, which are expected to be available in 2027. Apple reportedly intends to continue its collaboration with TSMC for technologies . To put the nanometer scale into perspective, the width of a human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000nm.
Last year, Apple adopted 3nm chips for iPhones and Macs, an upgrade from the previous 5nm technology. The move to 3nm brought a 20% increase in GPU speeds, a 10% increase in CPU speeds, and a doubling of the speed of the Neural Engine in iPhones, with similar improvements on Macs.
Apple believes it will be the first company to adopt chips based on TSMC's upcoming 2nm process, which is expected to begin production in the second half of 2025. The 2nm manufacturing process, also known as "N2," is expected to offer a 10% to 15% increase in speed at the same power, or a 25% to 30% reduction in power at the same speed compared to chips based on the supplier's 3nm technology.
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TSMC is building two new factories to produce 2-nanometer chips and is awaiting approval for a third. The Taiwanese giant is investing billions in the transition, while Apple will also have to adapt to the new nanometer chip. Apple is TSMC's main customer and is usually the first to adopt the company. In 2023, Apple acquired all of TSMC's 3-nanometer chips for iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Source: macrumors.com
