Apple and Intel will reportedly be the first major companies to build chips with TSMC’s 3nm process technology. The two companies are currently testing chip designs with this technology, and will likely mass-produce these chips for devices slated to launch in the second half of the next year.
At the moment, Apple uses TSMC’s 5nm technology for their iPhone 12 series smartphones. With an upgrade to 3nm process technology, TSMC claims performance will improve by 10-15% compared to the previous generation, and power consumption will reduce by 25% to 30%.
Apple will first feature 3nm chips in the 2022 iPad, and for this year’s iPhone SoC, Apple will use an intermediary 4nm process technology.
The 2nd company to work with TSMC for their 3nm chips is Intel, who reportedly has chip volume planned than Apple. Intel is planning to work with TSMC for their chips until they can get their own in-house chip manufacturing technology back on track.
Intel has several processor chips projects planned with TSMC, including two 3-nm projects for producing CPUs for upcoming notebooks and data center servers. The company is facing stiff competition from rivals such as NVIDIA and AMD, and is struggling to maintain market share. Hence, they have opted to work with their chip-manufacturer rival, TSMC.