Apple’s A16 Will Not Use the 3nm Process From TSMC
The M2 Pro and M2 Max are Apple’s latest addition to their Mac processor lineup. These ARM processors are based on the 3nm process node by TSMC.
In a previous article, a fellow writer covered TSMC’s timeline for their 3nm chips. However, for those wondering the iPhone 14 may not see the same silicon being utilized for the A16 SoC. This may be because Apple ordered a batch of 4nm chips for the A16 before TSMC even announced their 3nm lineup. So additional demand for 3nm from Apple may result in yield issues.
Apple plans to use the 3nm process for its upcoming M2 Pro and M2 Max which will arrive later this year. However, as for the phone department, matters are a bit complex.
Switching things up, Apple will utilize the new and fancy A16 Bionic chip only on the Pro models of its upcoming iPhone 14 this year. The lower end non-Pro iPhone 14 models will make use of the older, but fast A15 chip.
The A16 will be based on TSMC’s 4nm process node. The iPhone 15 may feature the 3nm based A17, although based on Apple’s new strategy it will only power the Pro variants. The iPhone 16 arriving in 2024 will be the first time Apple completely makes use of the 3nm process (A18) as even its lower end variants will be treated with the A17 (3nm) chip.
