TSMC will mass-produce 3nm chips by the end of next year: Apple's M3/A17 processor details are exposed

According to the latest supply chain news, TSMC plans to start commercial production of 3nm process chips in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Apple expects to release its first electronics in 2023 with TSMC-made 3nm chips, including macs with M3 chips and iPhone 15 series smartphones with A17 chips. The process technology of this chip is more advanced, and it will also enable future Macs and iPhones to have faster processing speeds and longer battery life.

It has been reported that Apple is working with chip foundry partner TSMC, which is trial-producing the 3nm process, that is, N3. Apple's first 3nm chip may be launched in 2023, including the A17 chip on the iPhone 15 and the M3 series chip on the Mac, of course, these names are only predictions, and it is not clear whether it will be the final name.

At present, the M1 chip is an 8-core design, the M1 Pro and M1 Max are 10-core designs, and whether it is M1, M1 Pro or M1 Max, they are all single-die designs. Rumor has it that the M3 will feature a 4 die design with a maximum 40-core CPU.

Finally, A16 and M2 chips using TSMC's 4nm technology, that is, the N4 process, may appear on next year's iPhone 14 and Mac products.