Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Progress is reportedly going well at Apple’s chipmaker TSMC on development of the 2nm and later 1.4nm processors to power the 2025 through 2027 Mac and iPhone models.
Getting these chips into production is a critical part of keeping Apple at the forefront of technology.
No problems with TSMC developing 2nm and 1.4nm processors
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 MacBooks and iMac were all produced with a 3nm process. That’s the best available at this time.
But TSMC is hard at work on the production process that will enable 2nm chips. And past that will be 1.4nm chips — that process is often called A14. Development for these reportedly remains on schedule.
“TSMC is making progress toward entering the A14 and 2nm process generations as planned, according to sources at fab toolmakers,” reported DigiTimes on Wednesday.
Trial production of 2nm chips should start later this year, with full production beginning in 2025. And all of the initial supply of these might go into iPhone and Mac, according to a published report.
Other computer-makers will benefit, too. TSMC produces chips for a range of companies — Apple is only the most prominent.
Looking farther ahead
An improved version of the 2nm process allegedly will make Apple’s 2026 family of chips. And production of 1.4nm processors is expected to begin in 2027.
Chip development doesn’t always go this smoothly. TSMC ran into problems developing its 3nm production process, and that forced Apple to delay introducing chips that used it by a year.