iPhone’s next-gen 5nm chips could enter production in Q2 2020

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iPhone-11-gaming
5nm chips will bring increased performance and efficiency.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next-generation 5-nanometer chipsets for the 2020 iPhone lineup are expected to enter production during the second quarter of this year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will remain Apple’s sole supplier, according to a new report.

Apple packs A13 Bionic chips into the iPhone 11 lineup. They’re manufactured using a 7-nanometer process that allows millions of tiny transistors to be packed together tightly for efficiency and performance.

But the A13 could be Apple’s last 7nm chip for iOS devices. Cupertino is expect to shift to even faster, even more efficient 5nm chips for 2020. And they could enter production very soon.

iPhone’s first 5nm chips on the way

“TSMC will remain the sole foundry partner of Apple for the chips for its 2020 iPhone series, and volume production using 5nm EUV process will kick off by the end of second-quarter 2020,” reports Commercial Times.

Apple is expected to take up at least two thirds of TSMC’s total production capacity for 5nm chips. HiSilicon, a division of Huawei, will take up the rest.

It’s difficult to predict exactly what kind of improvements we can expect from a 5nm chip. The A13 is around 20% faster than the A12, which is also a 7nm chipset, and significantly faster than the A11, which is a 10nm chipset.

Increased performance is all but guaranteed, then, but we don’t yet know how much faster the A14 might be. We can also expect Apple’s next chip to be even kinder on battery life. And that’s always a win for iPhone users.

Via: Digitimes

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