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Apple's 2028 iPhones to Use 1.4nm A22 Pro Chips

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Apple will transition from 2-nanometer chips to 1.4-nanometer chips with the high-end 2028 iPhone models, reports Bloomberg. Chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will make the majority of Apple's A22 Pro chips, but Apple is also considering having Intel make some of them.

apple-silicon-1-feature.jpg

The current iPhone 17 models use a third-generation N3P 3-nanometer process. The iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone expected in September 2026 will be the first to have chips built on a next-generation 2nm process. 2027 chips will also use the 2nm process, and then Apple will upgrade some chips to 1.4nm in 2028.

TSMC has been working on 1.4nm chips for several years, and its A14 node will bring up to 15 percent better performance than chips built on its N2 2nm node. Alternatively, the chips will offer the same performance but with 30 percent power savings.

Every step down in node size comes with higher production costs and limited capacity due to the difficulty of manufacturing the most advanced chips. Powerful and efficient chips from TSMC are in high demand from AI server manufacturers like NVIDIA, leading to a more limited supply for consumer devices. During Apple's last earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said iPhone 17 models had been constrained during the quarter because Apple couldn't get enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC.

Apple has been aiming to diversify its chip supply chain, and it is rumored to be working with Intel. While Apple previously used Intel-designed chips in Macs, with the new agreement, Intel would make Arm-based chips using Apple chip designs.

Current rumors suggest Intel will make lower-end chips for devices like the iPad and Mac, but Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is aiming to revitalize Intel's chip manufacturing business by focusing on more advanced process nodes. Intel is developing its 14A node for 1.4nm chips, and it is expected to reach production in 2028. Prior rumors indicate Intel could make non-Pro iPhone chips in 2028.

Article Link: Apple's 2028 iPhones to Use 1.4nm A22 Pro Chips
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/16/2028-iphones-a22-pro-chips/
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mrleblanc101 said:
Apple used to dual source their chip from Samsung and TSMC before they switched to using exclusively TSMC because of their better technology.
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Correct. And what happened back then? There were quite significant performance differences and people checked on which mfg was in their phone and returned the "wrong" ones... ain't happening again
 
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jz0309 said:
I seriously doubt that. Dual sourcing is rather cost prohibitive (re-design, new tape out/mask set etc) and there will be performance differences. They might put the Intel chip in a different device though...
Click to expand...

The difference today is politics and government pressure. The U.S. gov owns 10% of Intel.

I seriously doubt the Apple finance team projected spending a couple million dollars for a gold trophy and hospitality costs when they did their financial forecast last year.
 
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Imagine this year with 2nm get BS-PDN (Backside Power Delivery Network) with innovation architecture chips from Apple
 
Apple has been aiming to diversify its chip supply chain, and it is rumored to be working with Intel. While Apple previously used Intel-designed chips in Macs, with the new agreement, Intel would make Arm-based chips using Apple chip designs.
Click to expand...
I could see this happening. Alphabet is going to have Intel make TPU's for them.

And Intel will be working with SpaceX on their Terafab to make chips based on Intel's 14A process.
 
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I can absolutely see Apple sourcing chips from Intel, but I genuinely don't see them having the "same" chip made at different fabs. More like..... A22 Pro goes TSMC, while other variants of that design that are not that high-profit and high-volume like M-Series chips will come from intel.
 
TheDailyApple said:
I think you mean 14 Å, 12 Å, 10 Å,...

The unit goes after the number.
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The last time node shrinks were based on actual physical measurements was around 32nm. Everything since then has been marketing labels. The new marketing labels from TSMC start with A18.
 
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JPack said:
The difference today is politics and government pressure. The U.S. gov owns 10% of Intel.

I seriously doubt the Apple finance team projected spending a couple million dollars for a gold trophy and hospitality costs when they did their financial forecast last year.
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Sure, and yet still, let's assume that they make the A22Pro at both TSMC and Intel, they're not going to put those chips into the iPhone 20Pro (or whatever model), they'll put the Intel chip into the then current model of fold or Air...
Or, they're going to do the M7 at Intel...
 
This is all assuming the AI bubble pops and therefore TSMC is willing to negotiate a future contract with Apple at all, or China doesn't screw with Taiwan. Otherwise I'm concerned we'll be stuck on a relatively stagnant tech stack for a while since nobody will be able to afford to upgrade in the future. Then we have the looming end of Moore's law with node size. I think at that point we'll switch to something more like what Huawei is doing with their new stacked chip design that is catching up to our node sizes through advanced packaging. But you can only scale that so far before power concerns creep in.

If things work out, I'm planning to upgrade my M3 Max 14" MBP to the 1.4nm node MBP Ultra or whatever, probably the second generation chip in 2029. My hope is that by then we can run sufficiently advanced but reasonably power efficient open source programming models on-device without needing a subscription.
 
jz0309 said:
I seriously doubt that. Dual sourcing is rather cost prohibitive (re-design, new tape out/mask set etc) and there will be performance differences. They might put the Intel chip in a different device though...
Click to expand...
Yes I agree. It sounds like Apple might consider making the A22 Pro on a TSMC but the standard A22 on an Intel process. This strategy would avoid what happened with the iPhone 6s (people returning devices if it doesn't have the TSMC version) and acts as another upsell to devices with the Pro chip.
 
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jz0309 said:
Sure, and yet still, let's assume that they make the A22Pro at both TSMC and Intel, they're not going to put those chips into the iPhone 20Pro (or whatever model), they'll put the Intel chip into the then current model of fold or Air...
Or, they're going to do the M7 at Intel...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple simply put Intel chips in all U.S. market iPhones and Macs.

The volumes of both Pro and base chips are so high, it doesn't make sense to artificially limit Intel to specific products. This avoids the whole "customer return" issue as well.

Apple can't satisfy the whole "chips made in U.S." if only a random model or SKU may contain Intel chips. It has to be definitive for Apple to satisfy the White House and avoid potential tariffs.
 
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