In the present market, the smartphone processor companies use the 5nm nodes in their new SoCs. The chip-maker, TSMC, on the other hand, is preparing for the 3nm process. The analysis of the entire timeline indicates that Apple‘s A16 Bionic will not be the first SoC to use the 3nm node.
The recent report says TSMC can start producing chips with a 3nm pipeline from the second half of 2022. It’s a bit late for TSMC than earlier cases as for the 10nm, 7nm, and 5nm the production started in April approximately.
Due to this delay, it seems Apple will have to stick to the 5nm node and can’t jump to the latest one. In simple words, Apple will have to use the 5nm or 4nm node for its A16 Bionic. And it needs to wait for the A17 to implement the 3nm architecture.
On the other hand, MediaTek and Qualcomm have a golden opportunity to use this 3nm node before Apple. Qualcomm is expected to use 3nm architecture in the successor of Snapdragon 895 in late 2022. This Snapdragon 895 will come to the market later this year.
