Apple is in the final verification stages for its first made-in-America A-series chips, manufactured at TSMC‘s Arizona plant.
A Nikkei Asia report indicates that the test run of the new chips from the plant, located near Phoenix, has already been completed, and Apple is now in the final stages of verifying the chips’ quality and performance. The first batch of chips to actually be used in an Apple device could be ready as early as sometime this quarter, assuming they make it through the quality assurance processes.
The factory is expected to produce A-series chips used in older iPhone models. A September 2024 report indicated that the facility was producing A16 chips in small quantities. The chips are said to be fabricated using the same 4nm N4P process employed in TSMC’s Taiwan factories. The A16 Bionic chip is used in the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
A report from earlier this month also noted that TSMC had now started producing Apple’s S9 System-in-Package (SiP) chip, used in the Apple Watch Ultra 2, at its Fab 21 plant.
TSMC’s Arizona facility was partially financed by the U.S. Commerce Department with $6.6 billion in grants and as much as $5 billion in loans for the advancement of semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC is also eligible to claim an investment tax credit of up to 25% of capital expenditures.
