Apple Inc is planning to use an updated version of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) latest chip production technology for iPhones and Macbooks next year, the Nikkei Asia reported yesterday.
The A17 mobile processor, which is under development, would be mass produced using TSMC’s 3-nanometer enhanced (N3E) process technology, expected to be available in the second half of next year, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The A17 would be used in the premium model of the iPhone lineup slated for release next year, it said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple declined to comment, while TSMC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
Current iPhone models use the A15 processor, while the iPhone 14 Pro, which was released last week, features the same chip.
TSMC has a 54 percent share in the global market for contractually produced chips, supplying Apple, Qualcomm Inc and other firms.
TSMC said the development of its high-end process has been proceeding smoothly and commercial 3-nanometer production is to start later this year, a year ahead of the launch of N3E.
The 3-nanometer process started a trial run last year, with the firm’s 5-nanometer process the latest to enter mass production.
TSMC’s 3-nanometer family uses FinField-effect-transistor technology, a 3D transistor structure that enables chips to run faster using the same amount of power or to run at the same speed on reduced power.
Late last month, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said that the company had encountered many difficulties in developing the 3-nanometer process, but would soon begin mass production with many of its customers keen to work with it.
Meanwhile, TSMC plans to mass produce chips using the more sophisticated 2-nanometer process in 2025 at a wafer plant to be built at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The 2-nanometer process would become the first technology in which TSMC employs a gate-all-around structure, which reduces undesirable variability and mobility loss, making the technology the most competitive and efficient on the market.
Wei has touted the company’s 2-nanometer process as the industry’s best and most efficient technology when mass production begins.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’