Apple to Get TSMC's First 2-Nanometer Chips

[pshufd]

In time for upgrading my M1 Max to what ever Mx Max Apple releases in 2026.

I was just thinking that on my M1 Pro.

I have no need to upgrade but would consider it for improved battery life, particularly with the additional efficiency cores. The timing wouldn't be bad for 2026 as that would be 5 years. I'd keep the old one to use as I often prefer having two screens on the road.

 

[SoldOnApple]

The hype around sub nm chips is going to be huge. The kind of pointless tech marketing buzz we used to see in the 90s.

 

[thegerman]

Can’t wait for the -2 nanometer in the future!

 

[arian71]

All deception from tech world
Oh wait 20% increase there and 10% there every ficking year when in fact the only new worthwhile thing we got the last 10 years was Oled display and 120hz screen


Round earthers a lot of them

 

[brofkand]

The hype around sub nm chips is going to be huge. The kind of pointless tech marketing buzz we used to see in the 90s.

People are already crapping their pants over nanometers even though it means nothing. Whatever it takes for people to open their wallets. Some people need very little convincing.

See: The Megahertz Myth

 

[pappl]

Continues until 0nm chips in 2030.
💩

 

[pshufd]

People are already crapping their pants over nanometers even though it means nothing. Whatever it takes for people to open their wallets. Some people need very little convincing.

See: The Megahertz Myth

We'll get a preview of improvements for Macs on the iPhone release before the macOS release.

I upgrade to the 2021 MacBook Pro 16 from the 2015. When Apple puts in enough things that I'd like, then I'll upgrade. I'm on 5 nm now and so going to 3 or 2 has a benefit for me. A larger benefit may come from going from 2 to 6 e cores because most of what I do can run fine on the e cores. 2026 may be long enough for their next redesign too. I really like the current chassis though there are a few other things that I'd like: a USB-A port, getting rid of the notch, a 17 inch screen, the glowy Apple on the top.

 

[CapitalIdea]

It’s fascinating that the Pentium was 800nm, and now we are getting down to the end. The physical limit is around 1nm for silicon so we are probably headed to quantum within 15 years.

 

[BuddyTronic]

Apple will be the first company to receive chips built on the TSMC's future 2-nanometer process, DigiTimes said today. According to sources that spoke to the site, Apple is "widely believed to be the initial client to utilize the process."

The report comes from DigiTimes "Tomorrow's Headlines" alert, so additional details may be available in the full news story.

TSMC is expected to begin producing 2nm chips starting in the second half of 2025. Terms like "3nm" and "2nm" refer to the specific architecture and design rules TSMC is using for a family of chips. Decreases in node size correspond to a smaller transistor size, so more transistors can fit on a processor, leading to boosts in speed and more efficient power consumption.

This year, Apple adopted 3-nanometer chips for its iPhones and Macs. Both the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 series chips in Macs are built on the 3-nanometer node, an upgrade over the prior 5nm node. The jump from 5nm technology to 3nm technology brought notable 20 percent faster GPU speeds, 10 percent faster CPU speed, and a 2x faster Neural Engine to the iPhone, and similar improvements on Macs.

TSMC is building two new facilities to accommodate 2nm chip production, and working on approval for a third. TSMC generally builds new fabs when it needs to increase production capacity to handle significant orders for chips, and TSMC is expanding in a major way for 2nm technology. The transition to 2nm will see TSMC adopting GAAFET (gate-all-around field-effect transistors) with nanosheets instead of FinFET, so the manufacturing process will be more complex. GAAFETs allow for faster speeds with a smaller transistor size and lower operational voltage.

TSMC is spending billions on the change, and Apple will also need to make chip design changes to accommodate the new technology. Apple is TSMC's main client, and it is typically the first to get TSMC's new chips. Apple acquired all of TSMC's 3-nanometer chips in 2023 for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, for example.

In between the 3nm and 2nm nodes, TSMC will introduce several new 3nm improvements. TSMC has already come out with N3E and N3P chips that are enhanced 3nm processes, and there are other chips in the works such as N3X for high performance computing and N3AE for automotive applications.

Rumors suggest that TSMC is already starting work on more advanced 1.4-nanometer chips, which are expected to come out as soon as 2027. Apple is said to be looking to reserve TSMC's initial manufacturing capabilities for both 1.4nm and 1nm technologies.

Article Link: Apple to Get TSMC's First 2-Nanometer Chips

Wow - that's getting so small and so far ahead of all other Silicon foundries, or whatever they are called.

Excellent!

TSM stock sure deserves to be way higher - it's been held back for a couple years! It's not right!

TSM makes ALL the best chips for INTC. ALL the best stuff for NVIDA. Not sure about Bitmain these days. All Apple stuff. Who else? Oh AMD! It's ALL TSM inside right?

And TSM stock?......

 

[CalMin]

-1 Nanometer of course!

But the chip will be inside-out so you have to flip the board around.

Negative nanometer technology. Woah!

 

[pshufd]

Wow - that's getting so small and so far ahead of all other Silicon foundries, or whatever they are called.

Excellent!

TSM stock sure deserves to be way higher - it's been held back for a couple years! It's not right!

TSM makes ALL the best chips for INTC. ALL the best stuff for NVIDA. Not sure about Bitmain these days. All Apple stuff. Who else? Oh AMD! It's ALL TSM inside right?

And TSM stock?......

There is some non-zero possibility of China invading Taiwan and you have to temper for that risk-factor.

 

[BuddyTronic]

There is some non-zero possibility of China invading Taiwan and you have to temper for that risk-factor.

Yah - I guess that has been the excuse/reasoning.

I recommended TSM to a friend at like $120 a couple years ago, and I felt sure it deserved to be $160. I felt that people were then talking about INTC Arizona plant building and I was like - what about TSM in Arizona? and what about the nanometers gap between all other silicon makers? Anyways - I still am a big believer and holding TSM - it just takes longer to catch. That's my working theory.

 

[Zwhaler]

Serious question, what happens after they reach 1-Nanometer? What's the next step?

Current roadmap is looking like 2nm --> 1.4nm --> 1nm --> 0.7nm

 

[Chuckeee]

The physical limit is around 1nm for silicon so we are probably headed to quantum within 15 years.

No no no . Once again, 5nm, 3nm, 2nm, etc. are not representative of actual physical dimensions. These are just marketing terms. They do provide indication of which is smaller than the next, but it is not related to the size of the transistors or gap size or any other physical dimension within the Chip.

 

[pshufd]

Yah - I guess that has been the excuse/reasoning.

I recommended TSM to a friend at like $120 a couple years ago, and I felt sure it deserved to be $160. I felt that people were then talking about INTC Arizona plant building and I was like - what about TSM in Arizona? and what about the nanometers gap between all other silicon makers? Anyways - I still am a big believer and holding TSM - it just takes longer to catch. That's my working theory.

Just looked at Intel and they're up about 90% from last March.

I personally don't get it but they were the stock to buy last year.

 

[klasma]

more efficient power consumption.

So it is able to consume the same amount of power using less resources?

 

[MysteriousStain]

I will get a new Mac when base specs are updated for this decade. So far, when the current one dies I’m planning on getting a PC

 

[WestonHarvey1]

Serious question, what happens after they reach 1-Nanometer? What's the next step?

The last time "nanometer" referred to transistor size was around 90nm. It's meaningless now - it's just for marketing. Nothing on the chip is even close to being that small yet.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I was just thinking that on my M1 Pro.

I have no need to upgrade but would consider it for improved battery life, particularly with the additional efficiency cores. The timing wouldn't be bad for 2026 as that would be 5 years. I'd keep the old one to use as I often prefer having two screens on the road.

I usually upgrade after 5 years of professional use and 3 years as Home/backup server. Only exception was my 2019 MBP, ran hot, loud and throttled all the time under load. I just hope Apple can support more memory and keep improving GPU.

 

[victorvictoria]

Don't need or want a faster iPhone. I want one with a longer battery life!

 

[lkrupp]

I can’t wait for Tim Cook to cap the new Mac Pro @ 40W then charge us $20,000 for a heavily undervolted mac

Good grief, man

 

[_Mitchan1999]

How much smaller can it get? I thought the A14/M1 chip was as small as it can technically get.

 

[Surf Monkey]

Serious question, what happens after they reach 1-Nanometer? What's the next step?

The next step is quantum computing.

 

[klasma]

Just looked at Intel and they're up about 90% from last March.

I personally don't get it but they were the stock to buy last year.

They merely recovered from the losses in 2022:

Investors lost faith, then regained faith. Q3 earnings exceeded expectations. Intel is building out their foundry business, so more competition for TSMC. X86 CPUs are slowly catching up to AMD. Plus they are profiting from Nvidia supply shortages for AI chips. 2024 could be looking good.

 

[neuropsychguy]

Good grief, man

These threads are a good way to learn who to filter out.