TSMC plans to change its focus from N3 to N3E chips in the future, with several unnamed companies indicating interest in the technology. While the manufacturer is believed to have received orders from AI and HPC firms, the company is also said to produce wafers for’smartphone related applications.’
With Apple purportedly securing 90 percent of TSMC’s N3 shipments, the initial iteration of the firm’s 3nm technology, it makes perfect sense for companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek to forego N3 and instead place orders for N3E wafers.
It is stated that not only is N3 expensive to mass produce, but TSMC is also battling with yields, which is not a combination that chipset manufacturers would like to hear if they want to give a constant supply of shipments to their own smartphone suppliers in late 2024.
According to a prior report, TSMC’s A17 Bionic and M3 yields were at 55%, but that figure could grow in the next months, coupled with a wafer output that may reach 100,000 units by the end of 2023. However, Apple is believed to transition to the N3E process in 2024 since the production costs will be lower and yields will be higher, however one rumour stated that the switch will result in a performance loss but did not elaborate.
Mass manufacturing of TSMCs N3E wafers will begin in the second half of 2023, although who would receive the first batch has not been specified. Given that Qualcomm and MediaTek plan to release their new chipsets in the fourth quarter of next year, the first shipments will almost certainly go to Apple.
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