TSMC ahead of schedule on trial production of 2nm chips; iPhone 17 first in line

Apple chipmaker TSMC is beginning trial production of 2nm chips, set to be used in the iPhone 17 Pro and other Apple devices from 2025.

The test run begins next week, significantly earlier than expected …

TSMC 2nm chips

TSMC has consistently led the chipmaking world in ever-smaller processes, with Apple its most important customer.

The company first demonstrated its 2nm chip process to Apple back in December of last year, and trial production is the point at which the company tests out the planned production line processes to be used, ahead of mass production.

Trial production of the latest chip tech was expected to begin no earlier than October, so a July start date is an encouraging sign. ET News reports.

TSMC will produce a 2nm semiconductor at its Baoshan plant located in the Shinju Science Complex in northern Taiwan next week.

Free City said equipment for 2nm production has been brought into and installed at the Baoshan plant since the second quarter, and will enter trial production in the third quarter, which is earlier than the market’s expectations for the fourth quarter. It is interpreted as speeding up to ensure a stable yield before mass production.

Getting a high enough yield rate – the percentage of chips which pass quality-control checks – is one of the biggest challenges for new process sizes. Back in April of last year, TSMC was unable to keep up with demand for 3nm chips as the yield rate was only just over 50%.

Apple may have reserved all 2nm capacity

Apple is believed to have reserved all of TSMC’s 3nm chip capacity for the iPhone 15 Pro and M3 chip for Macs, and a report back in May suggested the company was working on doing the same with 2nm chips.

A new report says that there was a “secret meeting” between Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams and the company’s exclusive chipmaker TSMC. It’s being speculated that the meeting may have been to agree a deal for Apple to reserve all of TSMC’s 2nm capacity, in the same way it reportedly did with 3nm tech

Using a 2nm process is expected to lead to a significant boost to both performance and power-efficiency of next year’s Apple chips.

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash