Unbiased tech journalist Tim Culpan reviews that Apple is now in early manufacturing of A16 chips at TSMC’s new Arizona plant.
The A16 is manufactured on a sophisticated 5nm course of (some name it 4nm) that TSMC calls N4P. That is mentioned to be the identical course of used at TSMC’s plant in Taiwan, and the Arizona plant apparently has yields (the share of excellent, usable chips per silicon wafer) which are solely a bit of behind the Taiwan plant. The method is being refined, and yield parity will in all probability be achieved by the point the plant goes into full-volume manufacturing early in 2025.
The A16 was the chip used within the iPhone 14 Professional and the common iPhone 15, which Apple nonetheless manufactures and sells.
It’s not clear the place Apple will use the A16 chips manufactured at TSMC’s Arizona plant. It might be acceptable for the Seventh-gen iPad mini, Eleventh-gen iPad, or as an improve to the Apple TV 4K. It might additionally wind up in subsequent 12 months’s iPhone SE. Any merchandise which are launched this 12 months are unlikely to make use of the chips from the Arizona plant, however as a substitute rely totally on chips from TSMC’s Taiwan vegetation, maybe supplementing or changing the availability with chips from the Arizona plant early subsequent 12 months.
Whereas the first silicon for these A16-powered gadgets could also be made in Arizona, Apple has not dedicated to closing meeting of iPhones, iPads, or Apple TVs in the USA. Nearly all Apple merchandise are manufactured by Foxconn and Pegatron in places corresponding to China, India, and Taiwan, out of components sourced from everywhere in the world.