Apple’s main chip supplier, TSMC, will begin mass production of three nanometer chips this week, with Apple being the primary customer of the new process. It’s also thought that the new M2 Pro chips created by this process could power updated MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.
Per DigiTimes, TSMC will start mass production of its next-generation 3nm chip process on Thursday, December 29, in line with reports from earlier in the year that said 3nm mass production would begin later in 2022.
As noted in the report:
TSMC is scheduled to hold a ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) on December 29 to mark the start of commercial production of chips using 3nm process technology. The pure-play foundry will also detail plans to expand 3nm chip production at the fab, according to sources at semiconductor equipment companies.
Apple currently uses TSMC’s 4nm process in its A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro series, but could switch over to a three nanometer chip in 2023. A report published in August claimed the upcoming M2 Pro chips would be the first to be based on the 3nm process. The M2 Pro chip is expected to debut first in updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros early next year and possibly updated Mac Studio and Mac mini models.
It’s also been rumored that the M3 chip, the third generation of Apple Silicon chips, as well as the A17 Bionic for the iPhone 15, will be based on TSMC’s enhanced 3nm process, which has yet to be made available.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.