TSMC’s next-generation Apple silicon chips are only going to get smaller and more powerful.
The chipmaker on Thursday announced plans to create 1.6-nanometer chips that could be used in future generations of Apple silicon processors.
TSMC yesterday unveiled a series of technologies, including the “A16” process, which is a 1.6nm node. The new technology significantly enhances chip logic density and performance, promising substantial improvements for high-performance computing (HPC) products and data centers.
Historically, Apple has been among the first companies to adopt new chip fabrication technologies. This past year, it was the first company to utilize TSMC’s 3-nanometer node with the A17 Pro chip found in the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Apple’s most advanced chip designs have historically appeared in the iPhone before making their way to the iPad and Mac lineups and ultimately trickling down to the Apple Watch and Apple TV.
TSMC is noted as planning to introduce the A16 production process in 2026. The process incorporates innovative nanosheet transistors along with a novel backside power rail solution. This development is expected to provide an 8-10 percent increase in speed and a 15-20 percent reduction in power consumption at the same speeds compared to TSMC’s N2P process, alongside up to a 1.10x chip density improvement.
TSMC also announced the rollout of its System-on-Wafer (SoW) technology, which uses multiple dies on a single after to boost computing power while occupying less space. This, in turn, could be transformative for Apple’s data center operations. TSMC’s first SoW offering, which is already in production, is based on Integrated Fan-Out (InFO) technology. A more advanced chip-on-wafer version leveraging CoWoS technology is slated for readiness in 2027.
TSMC is also said to be making progress towards 2-nanometer and 1.4-nanometer chips that could be used in future Apple products. Its 2nm “N2” node is scheduled for trial production in the second half of 2024 and mass production in late 2025, to be followed by an enhanced “N2P” process in late 2026. Trial production of the 2nm node will begin in the second half of 2024, with small-scale production ramping up in the second quarter of 2025. In 2027, facilities in Taiwan will start to shift toward production of “A14” 1.4nm chips.
It’s thought that TSMC’s A18 chips will be used in Apple’s iPhone 16 lineup, and be based on N3E, while the “A19” chips slated for the 2025 iPhone models could use Apple’s first 2-nanometer chip. Come 2026, Apple will likely move to an enhanced version of this 2nm node, followed by the newly announced 1.6nm process.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors