Since the PowerPC was an ARM chip, and the M series of chips are also ARM, it looks like it’s going pretty well right now.
Theory should be it shouldn't affect Apple as TSMC would have to deal only with the lines dedicated to Intel in terms of downtime and costs.
Apple chip supplier TSMC is scaling back its plans to produce 3nm chips next year after Intel postponed a major order, Taiwanese research firm TrendForce reports.
Intel reportedly planned to outsource production of its Meteor Lake tGPU chipset to TSMC, with mass production scheduled for the second half of 2022, before being delayed to the first half of 2023 due to design and verification issues. Now, Intel is said to have delayed mass production to the end of 2023, virtually cancelling the 3nm chip production capacity that it had booked with TSMC for most of next year.
As a result, TSMC has apparently been "greatly affected" by the move, forcing it to slow its expansion of 3nm chip production to ensure that production capacity "is not excessively idle, leading to massive cost amortization pressure."
Apple is believed to be the main customer of TSMC's initial 3nm chip mass production. According to the report, Apple is now the only major company among the first wave of 3nm chip production clients with orders scheduled between the second half of 2022 and the start of 2023. Apple's upcoming 3nm chips reportedly include new M-series chips and the "A17 Bionic."
It is not clear if the disruption at TSMC caused by Intel will impact Apple's 3nm chip production volume or schedule. The first 3nm chip from Apple is rumored to be the M2 Pro, debuting in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a high-end Mac mini model.
Article Link: Apple Chip Supplier Hit by Intel Delay Ahead of 'A17 Bionic' Production in 2023
Yes, but only if everyone else is willing and able to pay for it, and more importantly if they have a usable design. That’s Intel’s problem, their design will not be ready on time.
Do they though? There's a handful of people who are super salty about x86 virtualization going away, or folks with super specific software packages that don't / won't run natively on AS, but those are a VERY small minority. Anybody else complaining is likely just a concern troll from PCMR-gamer-benchmark land, who was never going to buy a Mac anyway.
Yes, it's only fair that everone enjoys the delays and higher prices: Optane memory killed - inventory write-off half billion; Sapphire Xeon delayed to next year; and financial statement shows a loss. So sad, thoughts and prayers.
WONG: its yet another SNAFU with the INTEL advanced 10nm - being delayed to next year. In INTEL lingo; it is still a "leadership" product, but the "leadership window will be smaller" - whatever that means.Chipmaking depends hugely on economies of scale. TSMC was relying on 2023 orders from both Apple and Intel to pay for their planned level of 3nm manufacturing capacity. Car analogy: if you have one large and one smaller customer wanting limo rides, maybe you can afford to buy one new limo and cater for both of them. If the bigger one of those customers drops out, you can't buy 1/3 of a new Limo. Limos don't scale smoothly. Nor, I imagine, do 3nm chip production lines.
As @MayaUser pointed out - with 20:20 hindsight maybe Apple could have offered TSMC enough business to pay for their entire planned capacity - e.g. by moving more of the Apple Silicon range to 3nm sooner - but these things are planned long in advance and it sounds like the plan was to start with the relatively small volume M2 Pro because of the contention for manufacturing capacity. Apple can't turn on a dime and have the entire 3nm Apple Silicon range ready to roll at such short notice.
I think that's one for Hanlon's Razor. More likely, it's just Intel being short of cash:
Intel experiences another kind of meltdown – financial one
'We must and will do better' CEO pledges amid big losses, Optane axed, expectations slashedwww.theregister.com
While I agree with you from a USA point of view, I suggest that spreading manufacture across several locations might achieve the best resilience. E.g. USA, India, EU, even the UK!
LOL. 3nM A16 wouldn't meet volumes, mass production was always set for 2023, still ramping up.
There is no shortage for SOC, Apple purchases years in advance, TSMC uses that cash to advance nodes, TSMC and Apple have special relationship. Other semiconductors are the problemWait. Wasn't there a chip shortage anyway? Or was that only man made to drive prices
How? TSMC will still deliver for Apple because Apples volumes fund their node development. TSMC scaling back to divert EXCESS resources to older nodes. Apple is unaffected, TSMC might revise profit guidance.
Again this has zero effect on Apple. TSMC is the only victim. Apple was never getting volume for iPhone 14, Intel or not. If anything might see a return to A17 across the board, doubtful with inflation, but you never know.
Western Australia makes most sense due to proximity to Asia and stable democracy. India too risky.
Yeah, I mean, this is TSMC just letting everyone know publicly that capacity is up for grabs. It’s not like Apple is a cash strapped company that can’t just write a check. Even if they don’t need the chips now, they can lock up the lions share of N3 production for years to come. Wouldn’t be a bad use of their money.
But, But, muh OLED.😂Intel’s laptop chips have been rendered obsolete in perf per watt, they desperately need the latest fab process, this delay doesn’t help. Check how an M2 MBA comparable laptop perform in this review:
Dell XPS 13 Plus review: XPS plus, battery minus
A killer screen that kills the battery life.www.theverge.com
