Apple's main chip supplier and Samsung's primary competitor, TSMC, is reportedly set to kickstart 3nm semiconductor chip mass production this week. The Taiwanese giant TSMC is a bit late to the party, but Samsung started 3nm semiconductor production around 6 months ago in June and unveiled the world’s first 3nm chips on July 25. Moreover, it shipped the first batch of 3nm chips just a month later.
TSMC is now starting production, with Apple being the primary customer of the new process. As per reports, Apple will use the TSMC-manufactured 3nm chips on its upcoming M2 Pro SoC that will power the updated MacBook Pro and Mac Mini models. DigiTimes notes that TSMC will start mass-producing 3nm chips on Thursday, December 29.
Apple didn't seem impressed by Samsung, even though the South Korean giant beat TSMC by a few months in manufacturing 3nm chips. Cupertino still went ahead with TSMC and reportedly picked TSMC over Samsung to manufacture its future M3 and A17 Bionic chips. Apple currently uses TSMC's 4nm chips in its A16 Bionic SoC, which powers the iPhone 14 Pro series, and is expected to switch to 3nm chips in its next-generation models.
Notably, the M2 Pro chips are expected to be launched first, which will be based on a 3nm process and will debut in 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros early next year. One interesting thing that the DigiTimes report mentions is that, as per industry sources, production of the 3nm chips “won't ramp up” until production of the enhanced version gets underway.
