Apple’s A17 Bionic Could Switch To TSMC’s N3E Process In 2024 For A Lower Production Cost, But It Will Come At A Drawback

wccftech.com:

The A17 Bionic that is rumored to be exclusively found in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max is said to be the world’s first 3nm SoC mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm process, also known as N3B. While we should expect numerous benefits for the upcoming flagships, including major efficiency advantages, the wafer costs are substantial. To mitigate these overheads, it is reported that Apple will switch to TSMC’s N3E process in 2024, but it may come with one consequence.

Apple was earlier reported to have secured 90 percent of TSMC’s 3nm shipments, indicating that the technology giant wishes to be ahead of the competition in releasing cutting-edge silicon before the likes of Qualcomm, MediaTek, and others get access to this technology. Apple’s smartphone chipset competitors will stick with TSMC’s 4nm process for this year, signaling that wafer costs are through the roof, and this might be one of the reasons why the Cupertino giant introduces a price hike to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

To mitigate these increasing component costs, a Weibo user called ‘Mobile phone chip master’ has stated that Apple will shift to TSMC’s N3E process for the A17 Bionic in 2024, which is the same manufacturing node that Qualcomm and MediaTek are said to adopt next year. While this rumored decision will mean that the chipset will be cheaper to produce, it is rumored that the A17 Bionic will lose out on performance, which is strange to hear.

We say this because compared to TSMC’s N5 process, N3 consumes up to 30 percent less power, while N3E consumes up to 32 percent less. Also, N3E improves performance by up to 18 percent compared to N5, while N3 can only top out at up to 15 percent. Assuming that the M3 is also delayed until early next