Apple A16 chips now being made in the US, creating a mystery

Apple A16 chips are now being made in TSMC’s US chipmaking plant in Arizona, according to a new report. It’s said that while yield rates are lower than those achieved in Taiwan, they are very close to hitting the same standards.

The big mystery, however, is why Apple would want to make new A16 chips. Which new product might use them … ?

Apple A16 chips being made in the US

Taiwanese journalist Tim Culpan reports:

TSMC’s first Arizona chips are now in production, and Apple is ready to be the first cab off the rank with mobile processors made using the foundry’s 5nm process.

Apple’s A16 SoC […] is currently being manufactured at Phase 1 of TSMC’s Fab 21 in Arizona in small, but significant, numbers, my sources tell me. Volume will ramp up considerably when the second stage of the Phase 1 fab is completed and production is underway, putting the Arizona project on track to hit its target for production in the first-half of 2025.

It had been suggested that the Arizona plant might struggle to achieve the same yield rates – the percentage of chips which pass quality standards – as the company’s Taiwanese plants. The challenge is all the greater given production of the most advanced chip the 5nm plant can fabricate.

But Culpan says that yield rates are impressive, and improving.

Currently TSMC is achieving yields in Arizona that are slightly behind what’s enjoyed back home in Taiwan (basically, neck and neck). Most important, though, is that improvements are moving so rapidly that true yield parity between Taiwan and Arizona is expected to be reached in coming months.

But what is it for?

The big question is what is the A16 chip for? Culpan suggests the iPhone SE 4 is “likely.”

It’s true that this model is expected to be based on the iPhone 14. This would see the entry-level iPhone finally ditch the Home button, and adopt the mostly-screen form factor of modern iPhones. The display is said to be from the iPhone 13, which is either identical or nearly so to the one used in the iPhone 14.

However, Apple has historically given the iPhone SE a current (non-Pro) chip. Additionally, the iPhone 14 Pro can’t run Apple Intelligence features, and it would be odd for the company to launch a new phone – even an entry-level one – which can’t.

The same issue arises with future (non-Pro) iPads. Apple would again want those to be able to run AI features.

RAM is known to be a limitation, so one possibility is that the A16 chip would be capable of running AI if the chip design were modified to give it more.

One less likely possibility is that it’s just a test, as part of a long-term plan to bring more advanced Apple chipmaking capabilities onto US soil, but that would be a very expensive experiment for limited gain, given how far behind the A16 design is now.

Suggestions on a postcard, please …

Spotted by MacRumors. Photo: Bravo Prince on Unsplash.