Apple A17 or adopt 3nm process, and TSMC OEM

It is reported that Apple is expected to use the new A17 processor in the iPhone 15 series released next year, and use TSMC's 3nm manufacturing process in advance.

It is reported that A17 is also likely to be only equipped in iPhone15 Pro and above products. As Samsung's 3nm technology lags behind TSMC, TSMC will basically provide A17 in the early stage of goods preparation.

It is reported that the only one that can compete with TSMC in advanced technology is Samsung Electronics. However, Samsung lags behind TSMC in the 3nm process. The second generation 3nm process of Samsung will be produced by TSMC as soon as 2024. Therefore, Apple A17 will be manufactured by TSMC.

3nm is the most advanced process of TSMC. Compared with 5nm, TSMC's chip density based on the N3E process is 1.3 times higher, the logic gate density is 1.6 times higher, and the speed is increased by 15-20% at the same power consumption, or the power consumption is reduced by 30-35% at the same speed. The innovation of 3nm series mainly lies in its use of FINFLEX technology, which can maintain the balance of speed and power consumption while increasing density. The yield of related logic test chips and 3nm 256Mb SRAM (static random access memory) reaches about 80%, and it is estimated that the initial yield will be better than the initial yield of 5nm N5 process.

It is worth noting that Samsung has previously stated that it aims to catch up with TSMC in 2025 and achieve overtaking in 2027. It is said that Samsung will mass produce 2nm in 2025 and 1.4nm in 2027, and hopes to get orders from Apple.