Apple is expected to secure 80% of TSMC 5nm wafer production by 2021.
Apple has been stepping up in all markets, and proof of this is that we now know that 80 percent of the wafers that TSMC will produce in 5nm next year will be reserved for them. Apple thus seeks to ensure a large stock of silicon at a time when it is designing its own chips for mobile devices, laptops, and even desktops with its Apple M1 processors.
Apple will secure 80% of TSMC 5nm wafer production by 2021
This also translates into serious problems for AMD, which will have a large limitation of 5nm wafers to give life to its future generation of processors based on Zen4 microarchitecture. Since the remaining 20 percent will also be eaten by other companies such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, Broadcom, Supermicro or Meman Electronics. Hence the halfway point with Zen3+ and the 6nm in some of their products.
According to the Taiwanese media outlet CnBeta, Apple has secured an order for about 72,000 wafers at 5nm per month out of the 90,000 it can produce TSMC with all its factories at full capacity (and counting on the Fab 18 Phase III that will start operations in Q1 2021).
- TSMC will launch its 3nm Plus manufacturing process in 2023, Apple will be the first to implement it
The first device to use these wafers is expected to be the iPad Pro, which is expected to be launched in the first half of 2021. Much later, in September, the entire iPhone 13 family of devices will take advantage of this manufacturing process, which boasts increased performance with reduced energy consumption. Undoubtedly, the most interesting of all will be to see the first processor for desktops or laptops based on the 5nm, but due to the limitation of wafers, the company will prioritize its stock in mobile devices.
