According to the founder of the Taiwanese company, TSMC, an Apple chip supplier, has established plans to manufacture and distribute next-generation 3-nanometer chips at its $12 billion Arizona factory. Morris Chang said the 3-nanometer factory would be situated at the same Arizona site as the 5-nanometer plant while speaking to the media on Monday in Taipei. With the M2 Pro or M3 chip, Apple is reportedly switching its proprietary silicon to the 3nm process.
TSMC Will Make A New Plant
It is anticipated that TSMC’s improved 3nm process will be used to produce both Apple’s M3 processor for Macs and A17 chip for the iPhone 15 Pro models.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a high-end Mac mini and revisions for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are both expected to employ the M2 Pro in 2019. Although Apple and TSMC may have switched to 2nm processes by the time the plant opens due to the long lead periods on new plants, the fact that it is prepared for the most cutting-edge technology does indicate that the goal is to keep Arizona abreast of the most recent chip advancements.
Future Apple chips being produced in Arizona seems more plausible than not given the hazy political future of Taiwan and the PR points Apple would gain for US chip production. Future Macs and iPhones will be able to operate at quicker speeds and have longer battery lives thanks to the switch to more modern technology. According to TSMC, 3nm technology, sometimes referred to as N3, would increase logic density by up to 70%, speed by up to 15% at the same power, and power by up to 30% at the same speed. According to the corporation, volume manufacturing is what it is aiming for in the second part of this year.