TSMC will begin production of 3nm chips for Apple by the end of 2022, according to a report this week from Taiwan's Commercial Times. A separate report from the publication claimed that TSMC will begin mass production of 3nm chips in September.
The report, citing industry insiders, claims that the M2 Pro chip may be the first to use TSMC's advanced 3nm process. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that Apple plans to use the M2 Pro chip in the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models and a high-end Mac mini, which could be announced later this year or in the first half of next year.
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, will also be manufactured based on TSMC's 3nm process, according to the Commercial Times.
DigiTimes also previously reported that TSMC would begin volume production of 3nm chips for Apple in the second half of 2022, including the M2 Pro chip.
Apple transitioning from TSMC's 5nm process to its 3nm process would naturally result in faster performance and improved power efficiency for future Macs and iPhones, which could contribute to longer battery life. The high-end Mac mini and the Mac Pro tower are the only current Macs that have yet to switch over to Apple silicon chips.
