Apple’s chip maker TSMC is apparently close to putting the first A16 Bionic chips into mass production, which will roll off the assembly line in the US state of Arizona. Related predictions were already made in the fall, and Apple is now in the “final stage” of reviewing its production output, writes financial media published in Japan. Nikkei AsiaCommercial mass production of the first batch of chips is expected this quarter once quality assurance processes are completed.
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Chip without Apple Intelligence
The A16 Bionic is a system-on-chip (SoC) that Apple introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max in 2022. The chips will continue to be used in the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus through 2023. TSMC manufactures them using a 4-nanometer N4P process; They run up to 3.46 GHz. The core consists of six CPU cores, including two performance cores.
Interestingly, this chip is exactly the one without the AI unit that is not yet compatible with Apple Intelligence. Support starts only with the A17 Pro, which launches alongside the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max in 2023. However, TSMC does not yet provide the necessary 3 nm manufacturing technology in the United States. Apple still has the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 15, and 15 Plus available, so the older A16 SoCs are needed.
Arizona factory is slowly being built
It will long be the case that TSMC only produces current Apple SoCs in Taiwan. However, the company wants to equip its Arizona factory with more fabs to produce higher quality chips. 2nm SoCs could roll off the assembly line in the United States for the first time as early as 2028. The Taiwanese government recently allowed TSMC to produce new chips abroad, although this is more a strategy than practical feasibility. Domestically, TSMC remains generations ahead, with 2nm SoCs expected to roll off the production line in the country as early as this year.
Nevertheless, manufacturing is growing and thriving in Arizona. Apart from local employees, many people from Taiwan are also employed there. The New York Times wrote last month that in the suburbs of Phoenix for a long time A “little taipei” Was created. The hiring of many employees from TSMC’s homeland – which the company considers urgently necessary due to the shortage of local skilled workers – is criticized by some unions. An attempt was made to persuade the American government To stop the visa program,
(B.Sc.)
