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Apple chip supplier TSMC will begin production of advanced 2nm chips by 2025, in what is likely to contribute to a key future iteration of Apple silicon, Nikkei Asia reports.

tsmc_semiconductor_chip_inspection_678x452.jpg

TSMC made the announcement at an industry event on Thursday, explaining that its 2nm technology will be based on "nanosheet transistor architecture." Nanosheet architecture is a totally different chip technology from the FinFET infrastructure used for TSMC's current 5nm chips, delivering significant performance and efficiency improvements. Apple's latest chips, such as the M2 and A15 Bionic, are produced with TSMC's 5nm fabrication process.

TSMC's first 3nm chips are due to begin production in the second half of 2022. Apple could introduce custom silicon chips based on TSMC's 3nm process as soon as this year, but other reports claim that the technology is likely to debut with the "M3" and "A17" chips in 2023.

The 2025 timeframe is the first official schedule for the company's 2nm chip production and is highly likely to be used for future Apple silicon chips. The 2nm fabrication process, also known simply as "N2," is expected to offer a 10 to 15 percent speed improvement at the same power or a 25 to 30 percent power reduction at the same speed compared to chips made with the supplier's 3nm technology.

Article Link: Apple Silicon Likely to Benefit as TSMC Aims to Launch 2nm Chips by 2025
 
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HobeSoundDarryl

macrumors G5
Fractions or they start spinning angstroms. There's always a smaller measure to adopt to support a marketing message. And don't let the laws of physics get in the way either. By super-fine hair-splitting, it can sound like whole number generations year over year while actually being only a fraction of what used to be a single generational number.

For example, if we put this in money terms, you would think a penny is as low as money goes. And yet, every gas station you pass adds the charge of 9/10ths of one cent... implying that someone else might bid that down to 8/10ths, 7/10ths, etc. But what if it gets down to 1/10th... then what??? Hello .0099, .0098, .0097, etc. That should buy a hundred years of generational gain claims.

There's always a smaller measure. And even when physics throws up a hard barrier, the fine hair that remains to max- er MIN- out the possibilities could be split into thousanths, ten thousandths, etc. The whole number will sound as familiar as whole numbers in nanometers now even if it is working within the fractional limits of only a single nanometer.

Besides, as others post often, even the current X nanometer process isn't literal. It's just a marketing "puffery" claim, apparently driven by the perceived need of a lower number in spite of the technology not actually representing the claim.

Funny how they call it 2nm while the transistor size or the absolute distance between the transistors is no where near 2 nanometers.

See "magical", "faster than 3090", 5Ge, "biggest network", "fastest network", 5G coverage map, "cool, ocean breeze" in coastal RE no matter how far you are from the coast, remarkable battery life claims, "lose weight without dieting or exercise", "lose 60 pounds in 6 weeks with this one small trick", 'elongation' pill/herbs/formula, how a swamp can become a natural preserve in RE puffery, "this miracle face cream will remove 20+ years of aging", wifi speed claims, broadband speed claims, SSD speed claims, Thunderbolt/USB speed claims, "this ship is unsinkable", diet candy, "It's easy... anyone can do it", "100% fruit- all natural", "I make $XXXXXX per month in only 1 hour per day and you can too", "Get rich quick with absolutely no selling", "The cure-all elixir", "Smoking cigarettes is good for you", "vaping is not as bad as smoking", "free range" <anything>, this bottled water is sourced from <exotic> place, kills 99.9% of germs, appearance of fast food in the ad vs. reality, "this one secret will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams", "valued at several times the price being sought today", "this time, it's different", any easy solution to make you thinner/more beautiful/younger looking, immediate ROI, "get in shape without setting foot in a gym", your personal data is completely secure in the cloud, favorable food label numbers until you check servings per container to realize that only a fraction of the single serving container is considered a serving, "everyone is obsessed with this <product>", "this one simple hack will do <wondrous things>", "free, unlimited fusion energy for all is only about 20-30 years away", just about anything politicians say that goes against common sense or hard science, "turn $2K into $200K in only 2 months", etc. The full list could probably exceed all storage available for the MR website.
 
Last edited:

Love-hate 🍏 relationship

macrumors 68030
Sep 19, 2021
2,920
3,063
Funny how they call it 2nm while the transistor size or the absolute distance between the transistors is no where near 2 nanometers.
how dare they then?

is there an extension to block websites ? I'd like to block macrumors lol

I'm too weak to resist those rumors which make me expect and wait for new stuff that's ineluctably better

hmmm n3 to début with a17 and M3? Isnt it more logical to see M3 being based on A16 rather than a17?

also if I get it right ,n2 shift will bring same improvements over n3 ,as n3 over n5 ! impressive given the fact that it's 1gen diff vs 2


sorry guys too many comments of mine but these are different topics
 
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Leon Ze Professional

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2021
602
3,300
I would think 2nm would be the limit we can go with silicon before it becomes to unstable?

To make the next jump in technology we probably have to go with quantum computing. But I have not been following this for quite sometime so I don't know how feasible this technology is at present?
 
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ilikewhey

macrumors 68040
May 14, 2014
3,578
4,604
nyc upper east
I would think 2nm would be the limit we can go with silicon before it becomes to unstable?

To make the next jump in technology we probably have to go with quantum computing. But I have not been following this for quite sometime so I don't know how feasible this technology is at present?
probably move away from silicon, the idea of carbon based cpu has been pitched for a decade now but we still no where near it.
 

mikethemartian

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2017
1,483
2,239
Melbourne, FL
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bluecoast

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2017
2,205
2,625
It would be a really interesting story to find out why cutting edge tech like this isn’t being produced in the USA but in Taiwan.

Why did companies in the USA seemingly drop the ball in not being able to offer this technology?
 
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progx

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2003
751
807
Pennsylvania
Intel should come up with a new marketing around the "nm Myth".

They’re the ones who pushed the nanometer narrative from the beginning. They used it to lure Apple away from IBM in the mid-2000s. Intel said they could shrink their chips down to accommodate Apple’s design choices. IBM was having a very hard time getting the G5 to fit into an iMac, let alone a PowerBook.
 

theLeudker

macrumors newbie
Apr 19, 2012
8
10
Fractions or they start spinning angstroms. There's always a smaller measure to adopt to support a marketing message. And don't let the laws of physics get in the way either. By super-fine hair-splitting, it can sound like whole number generations year over year while actually being only a fraction of what used to be a single generational number.

For example, if we put this in money terms, you would think a penny is as low as money goes. And yet, every gas station you pass adds the charge of 9/10ths of one cent... implying that someone else might bid that down to 8/10ths, 7/10ths, etc. But what if it gets down to 1/10th... then what??? Hello .0099, .0098, .0097, etc. That should buy a hundred years of generational gain claims.

There's always a smaller measure. And even when physics throws up a hard barrier, the fine hair that remains to max- er MIN- out the possibilities could be split into thousanths, ten thousandths, etc. The whole number will sound as familiar as whole numbers in nanometers now even if it is working within the fractional limits of only a single nanometer.

Besides, as others post often, even the current X nanometer process isn't literal. It's just a marketing "puffery" claim, apparently driven by the perceived need of a lower number in spite of the technology not actually representing the claim.



See "magical", "faster than 3090", 5Ge, "biggest network", "fastest network", 5G coverage map, "cool, ocean breeze" in coastal RE no matter how far you are from the coast, remarkable battery life claims, "lose weight without dieting or exercise", "lose 60 pounds in 6 weeks with this one small trick", 'elongation' pill/herbs/formula, how a swamp can become a natural preserve in RE puffery, "this miracle face cream will remove 20+ years of aging", wifi speed claims, broadband speed claims, SSD speed claims, Thunderbolt/USB speed claims, "this ship is unsinkable", diet candy, "It's easy... anyone can do it", "100% fruit- all natural", "I make $XXXXXX per month in only 1 hour per day and you can too", "Get rich quick with absolutely no selling", "The cure-all elixir", "Smoking cigarettes is good for you", "vaping is not as bad as smoking", "free range" <anything>, this bottled water is sourced from <exotic> place, kills 99.9% of germs, appearance of fast food in the ad vs. reality, "this one secret will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams", "valued at several times the price being sought today", "this time, it's different", any easy solution to make you thinner/more beautiful/younger looking, immediate ROI, "get in shape without setting foot in a gym", your personal data is completely secure in the cloud, favorable food label numbers until you check servings per container to realize that only a fraction of the single serving container is considered a serving, "everyone is obsessed with this <product>", "this one simple hack will do <wondrous things>", "free, unlimited fusion energy for all is only about 20-30 years away", just about anything politicians says that go against common sense or hard science, "turn $2K into $200K in only 2 months", etc. The full list could probably exceed all storage available for the MR website.
I enjoyed the observational intelligence and humour of this post
 

Freeangel1

Suspended
Jan 13, 2020
1,191
1,753
WOW. I'll just wait until 2025 to switch from Intel to Apple Silicon.

After all I am good for one more year with Ventura MacOS 13.

Then I can buy the BEST Mac Studio with probably the last 2nm chips.

I'll be very surprised if they get down to 1nm chips.

So 2025 is the year Technology STALLS.
 

DummyFool

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2020
245
385
Intel should come up with a new marketing around the "nm Myth".
I have read that this it's Intel that is getting scr***d marketing wise because they use the measurement differently and their 7nm process would qualify as 5nm for TSMC.
 
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