Taiwanese news agency Digitimes In an exclusive report, he writes that Apple has reserved almost 90% of the production capacity of the first generation of TSMC’s three-nanometer lithography for this year to produce the processor needed for the iPhone, Mac, and iPad. Thanks to Apple’s big order, TSMC could experience huge growth in the second half of 2023.
Rumors say that Apple will unveil iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max with a 3-nanometer A17 Bionic processor. This processor will be made with TSMC’s first 3-nanometer lithography called N3B. TSMC says N3B lithography has up to 35% lower power consumption and 15% more power compared to 4nm. Apple produced the A16 Bionic processor with 4-nanometer lithography.
It is expected that the M3 processor of Mac and iPad will be produced with 3 nanometer lithography. Contrary to initial expectations, M3-equipped Macs will not be unveiled at the June 15 WWDC conference, and their release is apparently scheduled for late 2023. The new iPad Pro model with the M3 processor will probably arrive in 2024. 3nm lithography will be the biggest generational leap for Apple silicon from 2020.
TSMC is working on another version of 3nm lithography called N3E. Apple devices will eventually move to N3E lithography. N3E-based processors will enter commercial production in the second half of 2023; But mass production will not start until 20224.
