Apple chip partner TSMC to start 5nm 'A14' production in mid-2020

TSMC is ready to begin manufacturing the "A14" chip intended for the late 2020 iPhone lineup starting in the second quarter of 2020.

The design infrastructure of the 5-nanometer chip was finalized in April 2019. Chips using the 5-nanometer EUV process stand to offer a 1.8-times logic density improvement and 15-percent speed gain on ARM Cortex-A72 cores over the 7-nanometer process.

TSMC also claims there is a better SRAM and analog area reduction by the architecture change, as well as benefiting from process simplification via the use of EUV lithography. Should the report be correct, this is consistent with chip production start in previous years for a fall iPhone release.

Extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, technology is an important addition to processor production, as it can make part of the process much cheaper compared to existing argon fluoride (ArF) immersion techniques. While ArF may require up to four expensive multi-patterning masks to create a layer, the use of ultraviolet lasers for chip etching requires just one mask.

TSMC will continue to be the sole manufacturer for the new chips, according to Digitimes. As much as two thirds of TSMC's available 5nm process capacity will be used to make next-generation iPhone chips.

The chips will likely be used in the next generation of Apple's iPhones, including the iPhone 12 and the rumored "iPhone SE 2."

In mid-April, TSMC posted a 32 percent drop in net profit to $2 billion for the first calendar quarter of 2019 — the lowest since 2011.

While some of the profit decrease was caused by the global smartphone market slowdown, other factors were also at play. A chemical accident caused a loss of production in February, and the cryptocurrency slowdown cut back demand for chips from GPU manufacturers.

61 Comments

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

About 4 years ago

So, what is the benefit of a 200+mph car if the speed limit is 65?

Isn't Apple still installing the A10 (from September, 2016) in new products today in 2020? Don't they work (for 95% of users) just fine?

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what is the benefit of a 200+mph car if the speed limit is 65?

Isn't Apple still installing the A10 (from September, 2016) in new products today in 2020? Don't they work (for 95% of users) just fine?

Yup, they should just stop pushing the envelope, sit back and coast.

🙄

Fatman 513 comments · 8 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what is the benefit of a 200+mph car if the speed limit is 65?

Isn't Apple still installing the A10 (from September, 2016) in new products today in 2020? Don't they work (for 95% of users) just fine?

George, There is no limit. I don't want to pick on you but if everyone had that type of attitude we would still be riding horse and carriages on dirt roads - why would you want to travel any faster? There's no possibility people could ever fly from one place to another, let alone to the moon or Mars! 99% of users are consumers - not creators and inventors. They don't dream, they don't create, they stay in their comfort zone.

This is where people like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are needed, visionaries and dreamers, those that push the envelope, that ignore the 99%, and don't give a shxt about what others think of them. Bill Gates once said who will ever need more than 640K in a personal computer - we all know he is a fool (and buddy of Jeffrey Epstein). Microsoft has held back technology innovation for decades, Intel as well. If you want to hear a visionary and futurist speak about really cool, unbelievable stuff then watch interviews with Ray Kurzweil -- you will begin to feel that tech is not moving fast enough.

crowley 10431 comments · 15 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what is the benefit of a 200+mph car if the speed limit is 65?

Isn't Apple still installing the A10 (from September, 2016) in new products today in 2020? Don't they work (for 95% of users) just fine?

Where's this speed limit coming from?

Plus, it's not all about speed. Power performance, size, interfaces, all of them make for a better product.

muthuk_vanalingam 1371 comments · 8 Years

crowley said:

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what is the benefit of a 200+mph car if the speed limit is 65?

Isn't Apple still installing the A10 (from September, 2016) in new products today in 2020? Don't they work (for 95% of users) just fine?

Where's this speed limit coming from?

Plus, it's not all about speed. Power performance, size, interfaces, all of them make for a better product.

Looks like the other 2 commenters misunderstood GeorgeBMac's post and you seem to have asked the right question. The speed limit that George talks about is coming from the software which is being run on the hardware. The software has NOT developed as much as hardware in the last 10 years, to the point where further development in hardware looks redundant, at least in the short term.

I am just guessing here, may be George can clarify if my assumption is correct.