- Apple has reportedly secured all 2nm chips from TSMC for its upcoming iPhone 17 Pro series, limiting access for other OEMs.
- Chips fabbed on smaller nodes like 2nm promise enhanced performance, better power efficiency, and lower heat production.
- While Apple dominates 2nm chip production, companies like Google and Samsung are racing to integrate similar technologies in future devices.
There’s a major chip race going on among chipmakers and smartphone makers. Last year, Apple took the baton of all 3nm chips from TSMC with the iPhone 15 Pro series leaving none for other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Cut to now, it has been reported that Apple has reserved chips made on a 2nm node built by TSMC. On the other hand, we should get our hands on the first-ever 3nm chip (outside Apple) dubbed as Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC that will power the latest line up of flagship devices.
Apple Reserves 2nm Chips from TSMC
According to the latest report, Apple has reserved 2nm chips fabbed by TSMC. However, there’s also a not-so-pleasant twist as the chip will be exclusive to iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max. This ensures an optimal supply of newer chips on upcoming smartphones and a quiet distinction between Pro and Non-Pro variants.
Chips fabbed on lower nodes offer a tonne of benefits. For instance, the size of transistors used is reduced and that eventually increases the number of transistors overall without increasing the area. It also promotes power efficiency, lower power consumption, and lower heat production.
With a smaller node in use, the chips get better in terms of performance and thus, you end up with faster performance on smaller nodes. For instance, when Apple moved from 5nm on the iPhone 14 Pro to 3nm on the iPhone 15 Pro, it brought around a 20% increase in performance making it an absolute low-hanging fruit to get your hands on.
However, it isn’t just Apple, but a bunch of other companies have started their production as well. For instance, Google could use 2nm chips on the Pixel 11 series in 2026 fabbed by TSMC if all Apple leaves the units.
In addition, Samsung is developing chips made on 2nm scheduled for launch in 2025 followed by 1.4nm node by 2027 powering the Galaxy S27 line of devices. However, the timeline seems dubious since Samsung Foundry is facing low-yield issues across its upcoming chip.
Other smartphone OEMs are working on developing smarter chipsets with higher transistor counts that exhilarate performance as a product. It remains to be seen what does iPhone 17 series brings to the table.
