Apple Delays Plan to Introduce TSMC's 3-Nanometer Chip in New MacBook Air

According to a report from Taiwan's Economic Daily News, Apple has changed its plans and will continue to use the older M2 series chip in the new 15-inch MacBook Air, instead of introducing the new M3 chip produced by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology. The adoption of the new chip is expected to be delayed.

TSMC began mass production of 3-nanometer chips as scheduled in the fourth quarter of last year, and there have been reports that the new MacBook Air, iPad Air/Pro may all adopt TSMC's 3nm N3E process for mass production of chips. These products with the latest chips may be released gradually in the second half of this year and the first half of next year.

Bloomberg reported that Apple has recently started testing a 15-inch MacBook Air, indicating that the long-rumored device will be released and will be equipped with a chip equivalent to the energy efficiency of the M2 chip, rather than the next-generation M3 chip previously rumored. It is speculated that the M3 chip created by TSMC is expected to be available later.

Industry insiders believe that Apple will be the first customer to adopt TSMC's 3-nanometer technology. If the release of the M3 chip is delayed, the first large-scale application of TSMC's 3-nanometer chip could be in the iPhone 15 set to launch in the fall of this year.

There have been reports that Apple has already secured 100% of TSMC's N3 process capacity. It is widely expected within the industry that the A17 bionic chip used in the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max will adopt TSMC's 3-nanometer technology, which is said to improve energy efficiency by 35% compared to the 4-nanometer technology used for the A16 bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.