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Apple Secures Half of TSMC's 2nm Production Capacity for iPhone 18

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Apple has ordered almost half of TSMC's initial 2nm production capacity for the iPhone 18 as the pure foundry begins mass production of its next-generation chip process.

a20-chip-feature.jpg

According to DigiTimes, TSMC's 2nm process went into production in the fourth quarter of 2025 as planned, with the foundry setting substrate pricing at a premium $30,000 per unit. Despite the steep costs, chip manufacturers are said to be scrambling to secure production slots, with Apple leading the charge alongside Qualcomm for the largest allocations.

The Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer expects to produce between 45,000 to 50,000 wafers monthly across its Baoshan and Kaohsiung facilities by the end of 2025, with capacity scaling to over 100,000 wafers per month in 2026.

TSMC's 2nm process promises a major leap forward from current 3nm technology, with up to 15% faster performance and 30% better power efficiency compared to the A19 chips expected in iPhone 17 models. The advanced node allows for higher transistor density, which should translate to improved processing capabilities and battery life for Apple's A20 chips. Industry analysts Ming-Chi Kuo and Jeff Pu have said the A20 chip in iPhone 18 models will be manufactured with TSMC's first-generation 2nm (N2) process, so it seems all but confirmed that Apple will adopt the more advanced silicon wafer technology.

Beyond Apple and Qualcomm, TSMC's 2nm customer list will expand in 2027 to include NVIDIA, Amazon's Annapurna, Google, and more than ten other major clients. TSMC is accelerating capacity expansion plans as a result, with full utilization expected in 2026.

In a change to Apple's usual iPhone launch cycle, iPhone 18 Pro models are expected to launch in fall 2026, with the base iPhone 18 and entry-level iPhone 18e scheduled for release the following March.

Article Link: Apple Secures Half of TSMC's 2nm Production Capacity for iPhone 18
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/28/apple-tsmc-2nm-production-iphone-18/
It will be nice seeing Apple jump fully into the new 2nm process and leave room for other companies to finally, massively adopt the N3E or N3P process as their baseline. The 3nm technology has proven to be a good step up in performance/efficiency. For one, the future gaming consoles such as PS6 will likely be built using those 3nm process.

We’ll see if the jump with the 2nm is even bigger! The article mentions 15% performance boost and 30% efficiency improvements. Usually those are either one or the other, but if this time they come together, we could be seeing performance improvements of 30% or even more if Apple decides to not improve the thermals and reduce the heat. Something I wouldn’t like but, you know, performance matters more I guess…

Along with the new manufacturing process and the new GAA-FET transistor technology, I wonder if Apple will introduce a new, novel, revolutionary new SoC architecture, or they will just stick to improving the cores. Seeing the interest in the industrial spying that has happened recently with the A20 design, I lean more towards the first option, and hopefully the A20 and M6 will bring us one of the biggest generational leaps in Apple Silicon ever.
 
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I'd love to know how much is this Apple buying up 2 nm capacity to block rivals vs an actual need. I mean, Macs need performance boosts to stay ahead of the competition, but iPhones and iPads are already pretty overpowered and far ahead of the competition for what they do. Sure a move to 2 nm might boost battery life, but so would adopting SiC battery technology.
 
kiranmk2 said:
I'd love to know how much is this Apple buying up 2 nm capacity to block rivals vs an actual need. I mean, Macs need performance boosts to stay ahead of the competition, but iPhones and iPads are already pretty overpowered and far ahead of the competition for what they do. Sure a move to 2 nm might boost battery life, but so would adopting SiC battery technology.
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I think is more need than block
This new die will be hard and low quantity, and since this will be used in tenths of millions per year for the iphone and ipads, and macs..its for sure a more need . Intel even after 1-2 years they still didnt need 3nm even if the capacity grew
 
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Watching these sizes continue to go down always blows my mind. I know there is a lower limit, but I remember when getting under 100nm was a big deal and that was supposed be about as far as we could go.
 
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Based on my conversations with AI it is need more than a block at least till the number of wafers increases.
 
cocky jeremy said:
Should have snatched up all of it so no one else could have any.
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Apple has been accused of doing exactly that, in the past. The only real hindrance to using that as an offensive tactic against their competitors is an honest cost benefits analysis. While such measures clearly eliminate opportunities for their competitors, which by proxy creates the theoretical possibility of Apple filling a perceived void, these tactics obviously do not come without cost to Apple... and as noted in the article, it's not a small cost, either.

So at this point in the game, it should be pretty obvious that Apple is no longer using this as a blocking measure, but rather is just securing the necessary resources for what they think they can sell.
 
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zarmanto said:
Apple has been accused of doing exactly that, in the past. The only real hindrance to using that as an offensive tactic against their competitors is an honest cost benefits analysis. While such measures clearly eliminate opportunities for their competitors, which by proxy creates the theoretical possibility of Apple filling a perceived void, these tactics obviously do not come without cost to Apple... and as noted in the article, it's not a small cost, either.

So at this point in the game, it should be pretty obvious that Apple is no longer using this as a blocking measure, but rather is just securing the necessary resources for what they think they can sell.
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Just buy the full capacity and sell off what you don't need at a huge profit.
 
kiranmk2 said:
I'd love to know how much is this Apple buying up 2 nm capacity to block rivals vs an actual need. I mean, Macs need performance boosts to stay ahead of the competition, but iPhones and iPads are already pretty overpowered and far ahead of the competition for what they do. Sure a move to 2 nm might boost battery life, but so would adopting SiC battery technology.
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Not likely. There was a low desire from other companies for the prior node. So, with low expected sales, TSMC essentially sold all they could make to Apple. With other companies interested now, TSMC has, expectedly, raised their production so they can meet the upcoming demand (and they’ve won new business recently due to Intel’s and Samsung’s stumbles). Apple’s likely getting a similar amount as they were getting before, TSMC’s just expecting to produce and sell way more.

Won’t stop the EU from saying that them having money to buy things is anti-competitive, though.
 
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MacRumors said:
​

According to DigiTimes, TSMC's 2nm process went into production in the fourth quarter of 2025 as planned, with the foundry setting substrate pricing at a premium $30,000 per unit.
Click to expand...

Google translated to English version of referenced article.

" ... The semiconductor supply chain stated that TSMC's 2nm process will increase in volume as scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2025, .."

'will' and 'went' are not subsitutes for each other. The normal calendar 4th quarter hasn't even started ( October). Apple is current in their FY 4th quarter ( they end on last day of Sept. So FY starts in October. )


Not sure about translation but.

" ... TSMC has previously emphasized that the mass production curve of 2nm technology is similar to that of 3nm, and the number of product design outtakes in the first two years will be higher than the performance of 3nm and 5nm in the same period. Supply chain players said that as expected, Apple achieved nearly 52% of the production capacity, followed by Qualcomm. ..."

'achieved' is past tense. That last sentence could easily be about what happened in 3nm , not a projection of 2nm.

It would be a huge assumption that the percentages would stay static. That is flawed. AMD was the first wafer customer at 2nm . That was not the case for 3nm. So expecting the same percentage wafer assignments in the early stage is on very thin ice.

Even TSMC said that AMD had the first wafer.
58LN47RxGPgEb8TBNbc2GB-650-80.jpg

www.tomshardware.com

AMD teases its first 2nm chip, EPYC 'Venice' fabbed on TSMC N2 node — also announces USA production of current-gen chips

First 2nm HPC design.
www.tomshardware.com www.tomshardware.com

AMD is probably going to have a substantive amount of the initial production run.
 
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