Commercial Times: Apple to Get 3nm Chips from TSMC This Year

19 AUGUST 2022 - TSMC’s 3nm production process may not be as far off as previously thought. A machine translation of an article from Taiwan’s Commercial Times indicates that despite talk of pushing such production to 2023, not only will it start by the end of this year, Apple will be TSMC’s first customer for 3nm chips. According to the report:

Apple is a priority customer of TSMC's advanced process. According to equipment manufacturers and Apple production chain operators, Apple will adopt TSMC 3nm projection for the first time in the second half of the year. The first product may be the M2 Pro processor, and next year it will include the new iPhone-specific A17 application processor, as well as M2 and M3.

In this case - less is more. Moving from 5nm to 3nm should/would mean better performance and better power efficiency, which could/should lead to better battery life.

While TSMC going full steam ahead may seem surprising in #TheseTimesInWhichWeLive, Commercial Times says historically, it’s what companies do. While investors may worry over consumer appetite for devices in an uncertain economy, the report says “recession usually allows semiconductor operators to accelerate the development of new chips.”

Kind of makes sense. Give people a real reason to part with whatever money they have. Also - 3nm is the future for TSMC. The Commercial Times report says, “TSMC is confident that the 3-nm family will become another large-scale and long-term process technology.”