It's been "will they or won't they" regarding the iPhone 17 receiving the world's first 2nm chip, but a new report suggests that the A19 Pro will feature a structural width of 2nm.
It was thought that Apple's chip-maker partner TSMC wouldn't start production of the world's first 2nm chips until early 2025. Cult of Mac spotted a story on the Korean site ETNews, revealing that the manufacturer is in trial production of the next Apple chip.
It does raise the possibility that a 2nm A19 processor will be available in time for the iPhone 17 when it releases next Fall.
Supposedly, the 2nm form factor should bring a leap in performance and efficiency.
The A18 that will feature in the iPhone 16 is already expected to be reasonably powerful, and Apple is expecting huge demand for the next iteration of the company's handset.
It's been reported that TSMC wasn't expecting to start building the new 2nm chip until next year.
However, the Korean site claims that TSMC will begin trial production next week. Since last year, TSMC has had 2nm production tools installed in one of their plants. ETNews speculates that the Taiwanese company is speeding up the process to "secure a stable yield before mass production."
TSMC has said the N2 technology (what they call 2nm) will see volume production in 2025. An early trial run of the 2nm chip might allow the company to find methods to produce the next chip quickly.
"TSMC N2 technology will be the most advanced technology in the semiconductor industry in both density and energy efficiency, when it is introduced in 2025," TSMC said in an explainer. "N2 technology, with leading nanosheet transistor structure will deliver full-node performance and power benefits, to address the increasing need for energy-efficient computing."
The iPhone 17 isn't the only Apple device expected to receive the 2nm processor. The M5 chip for MacBooks (and potentially iPad Pros) will likely feature the 2nm structural width.
