Only in 2024 will the TSMC start making 3nm chips for other companies.

This is a change to earlier expectations, which would have seen Intel receive some TSMC-made 3nm chips toward the end of this year…

TSMC's 3nm process is expected to offer a 35% improvement in efficiency and a 15% boost to performance compared to its 4nm node. 

Background

Up to and including the iPhone 6S, Apple used to split its A-series chip manufacturing between TSMC and Samsung. 

However, TSMC subsequently developed a strong technical lead over Samsung, with ever-smaller processes. This saw it win all of Apple’s business for the A10 Fusion chip used in the iPhone 7, and it has been the sole supplier of A-series chips ever since then.

The same was true of Apple Silicon Macs, where TSMC’s technological lead has seen it win all of the Cupertino company’s chipmaking business.

Intel has delayed receiving TSMC's 3nm chips until next year

While Apple was always expected to be the primary customer for TSMC 3nm chips, starting with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, US chipmaker Intel was also said to be placing orders toward the end of the year.

Intel was originally expected to be using TSMC's 3nm process for the GPU tile on its upcoming Meteor Lake CPUs. However, due to the timing of the Meteor Lake's launch, which should take place around October, it's assumed Intel has ditched that plan and gone with TSMC's 4/5nm node instead so that it won’t take delivery of any TSMC 3nm chips until next year.

TSMC 3nm chips will be exclusive to Apple

This means that the Taiwanese chipmaker’s most advanced chips will be exclusive to Apple in 2023.

The growing challenge of smaller processes has seen even TSMC struggling to achieve the necessary yield rates for this year’s iPhone lineup. Back in April, the company said that it wasn’t able to keep up with demand for 3nm chips.

However, with reduced Apple orders, and Intel orders postponed, it now seems the company will be able to deliver all the 3nm chips needed this year.

AMD, Nvidia, Mediatek, and Qualcomm will also adopt TSMC's 3nm process

AMD is expected to adopt TSMC's 3nm process in 2025, while Nvidia has confirmed that its upcoming Blackwell architecture will use the same process and will be launched in 2025. Additionally, Qualcomm and Mediatek are expected to adopt the process in 2024.

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