With the official shipment of Apple iPhone 16, the next generation of mobile phone processors has also begun to attract attention. According to TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 17 series mobile phone chips that Apple is scheduled to launch next year may use TSMC’s enhanced 3nm process N3P process, and the iPhone 18 Pro model scheduled to be released in 2026 may use the 2nm process.
According to CNMO, TSMC’s 3nm process is in short supply, and the relevant production capacity has been expanded three times this year, and some 5nm equipment has to be converted to support 3nm production capacity. Legal persons believe that TSMC’s 2nm process capacity may be larger than the 3nm process in the future, but TSMC has not disclosed the capacity of individual process technologies.
The industry pointed out that after Apple’s iPhone 16 series of mobile phones were fully upgraded and expanded to adopt TSMC’s 3nm family process, in response to the subsequent enhancement of AI functions, it planned to adopt more advanced processes. Coupled with positive feedback from other non-Apple customers, TSMC’s 2nm has already received unexpected market demand before mass production.
