Apple looks to be the only company in 2023 to unveil the world’s first 3nm chipset from TSMC and according to the latest report, the technology firm is several steps ahead of the competition as it has reportedly secured 90 percent of the Taiwanese giant’s cutting-edge chip shipments.

TSMC to gain growth momentum of its 3nm process in the second half of 2023, likely due to higher chip demand from Apple

Even though Apple’s M3 SoC for future iPad and Mac models has been delayed until next year, the company still has plans to announce the A17 Bionic exclusively for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in 2023, along with the improvements that come with being mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm architecture. According to a paywalled report published by DigiTimes and spotted by MacRumors, the manufacturer stands to grow significantly as a result of Apple’s increased 3nm chip requirements.

Previously, it was rumored that TSMC was struggling to fulfill Apple’s chip demandfor 3nm shipments, which could be one of the reasons why the M3 was delayed until next year. Also, as witnessed in the company’s latest earnings call, iPhones brought in more than half of that $94.8 billion revenue, while iPad and Mac sales witnessed a slump. In this regard, it makes complete sense to delay the M3 in favor of increasing the A17 Bionic production for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

TSMC has multiple variants of its 3nm chip technology in tow, with the first iteration dubbed N3B. The report does not mention the manufacturer’s overall monthly output or how much production will pick up in the coming months. However, DigiTimes mentions that TSMC is prepping a more advanced version of its 3nm process called N3E, which is said to be utilized by the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Unfortunately, mass production of TSMC’s N3E wafers is not expected to start until 2024, giving Apple a major timeline advantage over its competitors. As for N3B, we should see massive power savings from the A17 Bionic, with TSMC stating that its 3nm node brings around 35 percent improved efficiencycompared to the previous architecture. However, the performance differences were not mentioned, so we will have to wait for Apple to announce those comparisons during the iPhone 15 unveiling that is reportedly happening later this year.

News Source: DigiTimes