TSMC to start manufacturing 3nm processors for Apple this month

Apple manufacturing partner, TSMC, is scheduled to hold a ceremony at Fab 18 at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) on December 29 to mark the start of commercial production of chips using 3nm process technology, according to DigiTimes.

The pure-play foundry will also detail plans to expand 3nm chip production at the facility, the article adds. The first of the chips could be used in the next rev of the MacBook Pro.

The M2 Pro chip may appear in the laptops and be the first to use TSMC’s advanced 3nm process. Apple’s A17 Bionic chip for next year’s iPhone 15 Pro models and the M3 chip, suitable for future MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models, are also rumored to be manufactured based on TSMC’s 3nm process.

In his July 17 Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple wants to debut new MacBook Pros with M2 Pros and M2 Max chips in fall 2022. That didn’t happen, but they’re anticipated to be unveiled in early 2023.

No design change is expected. Gurman says the upgraded MacBook Pros will focus on the graphics side, “just like with the standard M2.”