Apple will not equip next year’s iPhone 17 with TSMC’s next-generation 2nm process, says a leaker. Weibo user “Phone Chip Expert” says reports that the iPhone 17 will be powered by a 2nm chip are “fake news.”
According to a Monday post by Weibo user “Phone Chip Expert,” the 2nm process won’t go into mass production until the end of 2025. The leaker, who claims to have 25 years of experience in the integrated circuit industry, indicates the iPhone 17 will still use TSMC’s 3nm process.
“The 2nm process won’t be mass-produced until the end of 2025, so the iPhone 17 definitely can’t catch up,” read a machine translation of Phone Chip Expert’s post. “It won’t be until the iPhone 18 that a 2nm processor will be used.”
“Anyone who has seen the capacity planning chart will know that this is yet another report from an unscrupulous media outlet,” added the user, referring to an article by Zhitong Finance.
Apple chipmaker TSMC is expected to begin a test run of 2nm chips this week. TSMC will perform the test production run at its Baoshan plant in northern Taiwan. Equipment for 2nm chip production was delivered and installed at the facility in the second quarter of this year. Apple is expected by many to move its custom silicon to the 2nm process in 2025. The 2nm process allows more transistors to be packed into a smaller space, providing improvements in efficiency and performance.
Apple’s current flagship iPhones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by the 3nm A17 chip. Apple’s M4 chip, which recently debuted in the company’s new iPad Pro, uses an enhanced version of this 3nm technology.
The transition to 2nm chips is expected to yield projected performance gains of 10 to 15% and power consumption reductions of up to 30% compared to the 3nm process.
The Weibo user has a track record of accurate predictions and was the first to reveal that the iPhone 7 would be water-resistant and that the standard iPhone 14 models would continue to use the A15 Bionic chip.
(Via MacRumors)