2023-06-24 01:50:00
▲ Apple Inc. (Photo/Archyde.com)
Reporter Xiao Wenkang / Report from Taipei
Foreign media have revealed that Apple is considering switching to a cheaper process for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro chip, which will reduce efficiency but improve overall performance. The move will make the A17 Bionic chip initially used in next year’s iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max different from the version of the same chipset that will be produced in 2024.
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According to MacRumors, the A17 Bionic is expected to be Apple’s first chip to use a 3-nanometer process, offering significant improvements in performance and efficiency compared to the 5-nanometer technology used in the A14, A15, and A16 chips.
The initial version of the A17 Bionic chip will reportedly use TSMC’s N3B process, but Apple plans to switch the A17 to N3E sometime next year. The move was said to be a cost-cutting measure, but could come at the expense of efficiency.
N3B is the original 3nm node created by TSMC in collaboration with Apple. N3E, on the other hand, is the simpler, more accessible node that most of TSMC’s other clients will use.
N3E has fewer EUV layers and lower transistor density than N3B, resulting in an efficiency tradeoff, but the process can deliver better performance. N3B also took longer to prepare for mass production than N3E, but the yield rate was much lower.
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N3B is actually designed as an experimental node and is not compatible with TSMC’s subsequent processes (including N3P, N3X, and N3S), which means that Apple will need to redesign its future chips to take advantage of TSMC’s progress.
Apple was originally thought to be planning to use N3B for the A16 Bionic chip, but had to revert to N4 because it wasn’t ready in time. Apple may use the N3B CPU and GPU core design originally designed for the A16 Bionic in the initial A17 die, then switch to the original A17 design with N3E later in 2024. This architecture may undergo a generational switch through TSMC. Successor nodes of wafers such as A18 and A19 are formed.
It seems unlikely that Apple will make such drastic changes to the A17 Bionic during the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max product cycles, so the N3E version of the chip could be used in next year’s standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models.
The A15 Bionic chip in the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus is a higher-grade version of the A15 used in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, with one more GPU core, so despite ostensibly using the same chip, some Intergenerational differences.
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The rumor comes from a Weibo user who claims to be an integrated circuit expert with 25 years of experience working with Intel Pentium processors. Earlier this year, they first claimed that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro’s USB-C ports and accompanying charging cables would feature a Lightning-like authenticator chip, which could limit their functionality with non-Apple-approved accessories — This rumor was subsequently spread. Confirmed by more reliable sources.
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