Wrong, M2 Pro/Max already out in the wild and the spotted Geekbench 5 results indicate that they are using N5P like the regular M2.
www.macrumors.com
The Digitimes reporters are very well aware of TSMC processes. In this case, you seem to be the confused party.It's well-known, from TSMC's own press releases, that the N4P process (likely used in the A16) is 5 nm, not 4 nm:
"As the third major enhancement of TSMC’s 5nm family, N4P will deliver an 11% performance boost over the original N5 technology and a 6% boost over N4."TSMC Expands Advanced Technology Leadership with N4P Process|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C., Oct. 26, 2021 - TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today introduced its N4P process, a performance-focused enhancement of the 5-nanometer technology platform.pr.tsmc.com
So how much weight should we give to DigiTimes' TSMC reporting when they aren't even aware of something so basic?
i think charitable interpretation of this sentence is that production of 3nm due to start soon will be limited. Reserved to mainly to apple. The production will 'ramp up', hence become widely available sometime later.
How do you know they haven't tested it with a 3nm chip?
I had that question a while ago. The answer is, below 2nm it gets very tricky because we are reaching the limit of how small it can get. I mean, after that we would kinda have to move single atoms around...
New M2 Pro hits over 2000 in SC too, might want to compare the power draw and then take into consideration benefits of unified memory and integrated GPU and NE.
This seems to be the root source.It's well-known, from TSMC's own press releases, that the N4P process (likely used in the A16) is 5 nm, not 4 nm:
"As the third major enhancement of TSMC’s 5nm family, N4P will deliver an 11% performance boost over the original N5 technology and a 6% boost over N4."TSMC Expands Advanced Technology Leadership with N4P Process|Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C., Oct. 26, 2021 - TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) today introduced its N4P process, a performance-focused enhancement of the 5-nanometer technology platform.
So how much weight should we give to DigiTimes' TSMC reporting when they aren't even aware of something so basic?
And why doesn't MR do some basic fact-checking before posting this stuff? Given that the whole point of this article is to report on a process change, you'd think they want to get the process descriptions right.
This doesn't make sense. First they say that mass production on the first gen 3 nm chip (N3) starts in a few days, but now they're saying that production on 3 nm is unlikely to ramp up until the next gen 3 nm (N3E) gets underway. This is just screaming out for clarification, yet MR gives us none. Come on guys, how putting some thought into these articles, rather than just cutting and pasting a few quotes from another source (which, incidentally is behind a paywall, preventing us from checking it ourselves)?
In general I need to upgrade to Apple silicon because some software doesn't get updates for intel Macs anymore. I am preferring to not get gen 1 chips of anything (however they might be okay). I want more like gen 2 or gen 3 chips. The smaller they are the less power they need and the longer the battery might last. Perfect for mobile use.
I dont want Usb-C. All my cables are lightning. Ill probably pick up a 14 Pro before the 15 Pro goes on sale.
Running what software natively? Apple has a huge lead over MS and has mass production.
*gasp*
.
No way. Finished consumer products will be at least 6 months out from ramp start. The wafers themselves spend about 3 months in processing, then need testing, packaging and more testing. These 3 nm chips will likely go into M3 and M3 pro lines.
There is plenty of new technology around to continue improving speeds for the foreseeable future. Yes, things may not continue shrinking, but eventually we’ll move to III-V semiconductors (or other materials) instead of Silicon. There is lots of opportunity
With 3nm being used for the M2 Pro it will be interesting to see how small and power efficient they can make the M3 processor which I’m more excited about 😎
Apple's main chip supplier TSMC will kick off mass production of 3nm chips this week, with Apple being the primary customer of the new process, which could first be used in upcoming M2 Pro chips expected to power updated MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.
According to the new report by 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. From the report:
Apple currently uses TSMC's 4nm process in the A16 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 Pro series but could jump to 3nm as soon as early next year. A report 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.
Later in 2023, according to another report, the third generation of Apple silicon, the M3 chip, and the A17 Bionic for the iPhone 15, will be based on TSMC's enhanced 3nm process, which has yet to be made available. According to the DigiTimes report today, citing industry sources, production of 3nm process chips is "unlikely to ramp up" until production of the enhanced version gets underway.
Article Link: 3nm Chips From Apple Supplier TSMC to Enter Mass Production This Week
