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iPhone 17: Newer 3nm Technology Expected for A19 and A19 Pro Chips

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Apple's next-generation A19 chip for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air and A19 Pro chip for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will be manufactured with TSMC's latest, third-generation 3nm process called "N3P," analyst Jeff Pu said today, in a broader tech-related research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong.

iPhone-17-Pro-Max-Smaller-Notch-Feature.jpg

The current A18 and A18 Pro chips for the iPhone 16 lineup are manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process "N3E," while the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro models is manufactured with TSMC's first-generation 3nm process "N3B."

"N3P" is considered a process "shrink" compared to N3E, meaning that chips manufactured with the newer process will have increased transistor density. While this comes as no surprise, it means that next year's iPhone 17 models should have modestly improved performance and power efficiency compared to iPhone 16 models.

Previous reports indicated that TSMC would begin mass production of chips built with the N3P process in the second half of 2024.

In 2026, Apple is expected to use TSMC's first 2nm process for A20 chips in iPhone 18 models.

Article Link: iPhone 17: Newer 3nm Technology Expected for A19 and A19 Pro Chips
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/18/a19-and-a19-pro-n3p-rumor/
That's right, everybody, it's time to get excited for the BEST, MOST powerful iPhone chips that Apple has EVER released in an iPhone! And Apple didn't stop there! These are the FIRST EVER chips built WITH Apple Intelligence BUILT IN! These are truly the pro chips for pros!
 
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goonie4life9 said:
That's right, everybody, it's time to get excited for the BEST, MOST powerful iPhone chips that Apple has EVER released in an iPhone! And Apple didn't stop there! These are the FIRST EVER chips built WITH Apple Intelligence BUILT IN! These are truly the pro chips for pros!
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A20 will be the properly refined one. Wait until then. Keep the device for 5 years. Bob’s your uncle. Simples.
 
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The N3E process the A18 and M4 are based on isn't really a performance or efficiency gain over N3B (A17 and M3), it actually has less transistor density and removes some more advanced lithography features. But because it's a slightly simpler process it has a much lower defect rate and is overall much cheaper and easier to produce. The A18 and M4's performance gains come mostly from architectural improvements, including moving from version 8 to version 9 of the ARM ISA.

N3P, the successor to N3E, is supposed to come with both performance and efficiency bumps, so this should make the A19 and M5 worthy successors to the A18 and M4 even if Apple doesn't make as many architectural revisions.
 
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If there are only modest gains staying on the same 3nm, then I would think we should expect that on the Mac as well. But then again, I thought the same thing about the Mac this year and Apple really outdid themselves with whatever voodoo magic they put into these designs. Chip design in our current age may as well be wizardry, it is so amazing what they can do at such tiny sizes. If it's shrinking the process, does that mean the package itself gets smaller? If so, I wonder if they will opt to fill the void with more AI cores.
 
So that means the M5 will also be based on the N3P process. We will need to wait for the M6 before Apple moves to 2nm.
 
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munpip214 said:
considering that TSMC is coming out with 2 nm in 2025, this is a little surprising.
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what does "coming out" in your view mean?
Considering that millions of iPhones will be shipped in September, TSMC will have to be in high volume production ~ April to meet that demand ...
 
Who honestly cares about speed anymore and aren’t apps usually optimized for the most used devices anyway, which certainly won’t be the newest model. Got an iPhone 16 Pro but I can’t say Instagram is much snapper than on my old 12 PM, which only speaks for that device
 
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