not only talked about TSMC 's plan to mass-produce 3-nanometer chips, but also talked about an enhanced 3-nanometer wafer called N3E, but the actual name has not yet been determined. The enhanced 5nm process currently used for mass production of the Apple A15 Bionic is called N5P, so it will be interesting to see if TSMC sticks with N3E or pursues another name. According to the latest information, the manufacturing giant is expected to start mass production of its enhanced 3nm node in the second half of 2023.
Previous news said that TSMC has postponed 3nm chip production in 2022, which means that Apple will not have access to the latest and greatest technology and will have to rely on 4nm technology from Taiwanese chip manufacturers. Fortunately, according to this paid report, TSMC is expected to begin mass production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022, indicating that Apple’s A16 Bionic chips for the iPhone 14 series can be mass-produced on this architecture without delay.
It is said that all initial supplies of TSMC's 3nm chips will be provided to Apple in order to get a head start on the competition, so it is not surprising that the California-based giant would do the same when it gets shipments of the N3E node. . Unfortunately, there's no telling how severe the chip shortage will be in two years or how much of a premium Apple will have to pay to get this kind of shipments from TSMC, which is bad for consumers because they won't have to Don't shell out more cash to get the latest iPhone.
Assuming things don't improve, both 3nm and enhanced 3nm nodes could become expensive orders for Apple. Then, Samsung can use its own 3nm technology to narrow the technology gap with its largest chip manufacturing rivals, and mass production is said to begin in the first half of 2022. However, we don't know how much advantage Samsung's chips will have as it prepares to take orders from various customers.
