TSMC is on course to make the first processors made with a cutting-edge 2nm process. And all of the initial supply of these might go into iPhone and Mac, according to a published report.
It wouldn’t be a surprise, considering the same thing happened with the Taiwanese foundry’s 3nm chips.
The first 2nm chip won’t be out before 2025, though.
Expect Apple to launch 2nm A19 chip in iPhone 17
A-series and M-series processors carry the Apple name, and the chips are designed in Cupertino, but they are produced by TSMC using technology the chipmaker develops. The Taiwanese foundry has generally been able to shrink the components of Apple’s chips every year or two, allowing the devices they power to work faster while generating less waste heat.
The A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 chips in the new MacBook Pro and iMac were all produced with a 3nm process. That’s the best available at this time.
But TSMC isn’t napping and is already working hard on better, faster chips. And Apple could be the primary beneficiary of the move to 2nm. Unnamed sources leaked to DigiTimes that the Mac-maker will get those first run of the processors.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Cupertino reportedly took the entire first run of 3nm chips.
Even if all the 2nm processors don’t go to Apple, it’s a safe bet that iPhone and Mac models released in 2025 will have them. It’s likely the A19 and M4 will be produced with the process.
These cutting-edge chips should make iPhone better at running the artificial intelligence features coming to Siri and other aspects of iOS 18 later this year.
