TSMC Demonstrates 5nm And 3nm Lightening Processors Of Future

Apple hardware product foundry company TSMC detailed some performance or power consumption improvements in its latest 5nm process chip manufacturing process. It is expected that such 5nm chips will be used in Apple’s flagship product iPhone 12 this year. It is rumored that A14 is Apple’s first chipset product based on TSMC’s 5nm process manufacturing technology, which will bring a performance or efficiency improvements to Apple’s iPhone.

Macworld’s Jason Cross estimates that the computing power of the iPhone 12 is equivalent to that of the 15-inch MacBook Pro.

At its annual technical seminar, TSMC gave a digital description of the extent to which its 5nm process technology can improve the performance of Apple chips. According to these figures, AnandTech, a well-known hardware evaluation website, provides a chart of the degree of chip improvement.

The A13 chipset currently used in the iPhone 11 is based on TSMC’s 7-nanometer process technology (N7), and the 5-nanometer process technology (N5) is expected to be used in the manufacture of Apple’s A14 chipset.

The two parameters of chip performance and power consumption often cannot have both. For example, this time, either keep the chip performance unchanged and reduce power consumption by 30%; or increase performance by 15% and keep power consumption the same; or seek a balance between the two. But history tells us that when improving the level of chip hardware, Apple has always valued the improvement of iPhone processor performance. Compared with the A13 chip, the performance of the Apple A14 chip is at least 15% faster, and the power consumption (power consumption) will be reduced by 30%.

According to AnandTech, TSMC’s factory has already begun mass production of 5nm process technology chipsets. Apple’s next-generation A14 processor is expected to be one of the first chip products produced by TSMC using this advanced technology.

TSMC is still advancing towards 3nm process technology. 3nm technology may reduce power consumption by 25% to 30% and performance is 10% to 15% faster than 5nm technology. It is expected that TSMC’s 3-nanometer technology chips will enter the production stage in the second half of 2022.

Of course, these numbers represent only the improvement of the hardware level. Apple may further optimize iOS to adapt to these hardware upgrades. Apple is expected to launch four iPhone products in 2020, namely the iPhone 12 with 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch displays, and the iPhone 12 Pro with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch displays. These models will all have 5G capabilities.

via AnAndTech | MacWorld