As a valued customer of TSMC, Apple is getting early access to the Taiwanese foundry's technical advances, including nanometer-scale manufacturing of the iPhone's main processors.
Apple A20 chips to be manufactured at 2nm in 2026 ?££££
Corroborating previous rumors dating back to late 2024, analyst Jeff Pu of Taiwanese firm GF Securities predicts that the 2nm manufacturing process would arrive in 2026 for the A20 chips that will power the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the foldable iPhone. Today, the iPhone 16 Pro benefits from the second generation of 3nm processors, while the very next iPhone 17 Pro should be equipped with the third generation.
A20 chips with embedded RAM memory ?££££
Special feature of the A20 chip, a new manufacturing technology allowing RAM to be integrated directly on the processor, rather than as a separate component as is usually the case. Advantages of this system: increased execution speed, optimized consumption and better thermal management, not to mention a potential space saving inside the device.
As we always point out, in the world of processors, the smaller the etching process, the more powerful the chip, the less energy-hungry and less prone to heat. Indeed, the smaller the size of an etching, the smaller the space between the transistors, so more transistors are packed onto the same surface.