Apple is set to be the first customer, with the production flow also including advanced packaging to create the M5 processor, intended for use in both Mac computers and AI servers.

 The process will occur at TSMC’s Baoshan wafer fab in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The Tame Apple Press thinks that the 2nm chips in production could be used in Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 17.

Trial production was initially expected to begin in Q4 2024, ahead of mass production in 2025. The decision to start production early is seen as an effort to secure better yields.

Apple has reserved all of TSMC’s initial production capacity at 2nm. With the 2nm chips, TSMC is expected to apply nanosheet gate-all-around (GAA) and introduce back-side power supply (BSPR) technology.

The next 12 months will likely see intense competition as Intel, Samsung, and TSMC all strive to advance their nominally equivalent 2nm manufacturing processes.

A key metric will be the speed at which each company can improve yield. For a new process, this typically starts below 50 per cent but needs to be increased to 80 or 90 per cent as quickly as possible. With the complexity of the latest manufacturing processes, this is increasingly challenging.