TSMC managed to complete development of the 4nm processor ahead of schedule and is now moving to 3nm technology.
What to expect
Let us remember that we are talking about a nanometer, whichrefers to the width between transistors on a chip. The lower its number, the more advanced the chip, but at the same time, its production is more complex and expensive. Today, TSMC’s 5nm technology is considered the most advanced, which is used in commercial products, for example, iPhone 12 chips.
However, in the second half of next yearThe release of processors built using 3nm technology is expected. It should provide a 10-15% increase in performance or a 25-30% reduction in power consumption (compared to 5nm).
According to insiders, the first devices with 3nmThe chips that will hit the market will likely be iPads. Most likely, these will be iPad Pros with the new M2 chipsets. But the iPhone 14 will reportedly switch to 4nm technology.
The situation with Intel is even more interesting.Now its own fabs are designed for a maximum of 10 nm, so the company had to seek help from TSMC. As a result, having skipped 5 and 7 nm, Intel will immediately move to 3 nm technology. The manufacturer has ordered at least two types of chips, which are designed for laptops and servers. Moreover, according to rumors, the company is going to reserve a significant part of TSMC’s orders for the production of 3-nanometer products.
Let us remind you that MediaTek is working on a mobile SoC, which will be the first in the world to be built using a 4-nanometer process technology. The new product is planned to be shown at the end of 2021 or at the beginning of 2022.
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