TSMC's 2nm chips near production, iPhone 18 Pro likely to be first to adopt

[Daniel Sims]

The big picture: New reports suggest that TSMC's upcoming 2nm semiconductors are almost ready for prime time, with indications of very positive yields. Apple will likely unveil the first 2nm product in 2026, and other tech giants are already in line for TSMC's next bleeding-edge node.

The Commercial Times reports that TSMC is set to begin taking orders for wafers built on its 2nm N2 node process next week. The semiconductor giant is likely on schedule to start mass production later this year, with the iPhone 18 Pro's A20 chip bringing the node to consumers in late 2026.

TSMC's Kaohsiung plant will hold a production expansion ceremony on March 31, with orders scheduled to begin the next day. Progress has advanced smoothly, as the company's 2nm semiconductors reached 60 percent yields late last year and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that it has since advanced well beyond that. Pursuing an aggressive strategy, TSMC aims to produce 50,000 wafers per week by the end of 2025.

TSMC will start accepting 2nm orders on April 1, 2025, for 2nd half production, targeting 50,000 wafers per month by year-end, media report. Apple (A20 chip) is seen as the 1st customer, with AMD, Intel, Broadcom, and Amazon AWS also in line for early 2nm capacity. $TSM $AAPL…

– Dan Nystedt (@dnystedt) March 24, 2025

Unsurprisingly, Apple is first in line to adopt 2nm semiconductors for its chips. The company's iPhone 15 Pro was the first consumer device to utilize TSMC's 3nm node, and the iPhone 18 Pro will follow that trend late next year. Standard iPhone 18 models will likely employ a refined TSMC 3nm process.

Other early 2nm adopters include Intel, AMD, Broadcom, and Amazon AWS. Although Intel is receiving some of its chips from TSMC, the company also aims to compete with its 18A node, which is scheduled for tape-out sometime during the first half of 2025. 18A will debut in Intel's Panther Lake laptop CPUs and Clearwater Forest server processors later this year, slightly ahead of TSMC's roadmap.

Reiterating my prediction from six months ago: the 2H26 new iPhones (iPhone 18) will be powered by TSMC's 2nm chips.

Worth noting, TSMC's 2nm R&D trial yields reached 60 – 70% three months ago, and they're now well above that. https://t.co/ZoWXFqfUnS

– 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 22, 2025

The two upcoming nodes will introduce gate-all-around architectures, which reduce power leakage by managing electrical currents more closely. Power leakage is a growing problem as newer chips become smaller and pack more transistors into smaller spaces. 18A will also feature backside power delivery to improve performance, while TSMC plans to debut its take on the technology with next year's A16 node.

TSMC might charge $30,000 per 2nm wafer, but whether the number represents Apple's discount or the standard price remains unclear. For comparison, Apple currently pays $18,000 per 3nm wafer, but tariffs could raise that price to between $20,000 and $23,000. The rising costs of 3nm and 2nm semiconductors will likely trickle down to consumers.

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TSMC's 2nm chips near production, iPhone 18 Pro likely to be first to adopt

 

[seeprime]

For those few that believe the marketing names of the nodes, TSMC's 2nm node is actually using 45nm gate pitch and 20nm metal pitch. While the marketing names are wildly misleading, the refinement is still impressive, since Cray once predicted it was impossible to go smaller than 500nm.

 

[gigantor21]

For those few that believe the marketing names of the nodes, TSMC's 2nm node is actually using 45nm gate pitch and 20nm metal pitch. While the marketing names are wildly misleading, the refinement is still impressive, since Cray once predicted it was impossible to go smaller than 500nm.

When was the last time the nanometer number meant anything?

 

[Kirby1]

For those few that believe the marketing names of the nodes, TSMC's 2nm node is actually using 45nm gate pitch and 20nm metal pitch. While the marketing names are wildly misleading, the refinement is still impressive, since Cray once predicted it was impossible to go smaller than 500nm.

It's been true for a long time that many parts of these chips can't get any smaller, but the transistors still can, for now.

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

….. tariffs could raise that price to between $20,000 and $23,000. The rising costs of 3nm and 2nm semiconductors will likely trickle down to consumer…….

…Or, savvy consumers like me could just refuse to buy a brand-new 2nm iPhone 18….

 

[Porkous]

For those few that believe the marketing names of the nodes, TSMC's 2nm node is actually using 45nm gate pitch and 20nm metal pitch. While the marketing names are wildly misleading, the refinement is still impressive, since Cray once predicted it was impossible to go smaller than 500nm.

Still the performance gains couldn't be better


"However, since FinFET (introduced around 22nm), physical dimensions no longer scaled uniformly, so the naming became more arbitrary."

"Performance and efficiency improvements align with past generational scaling trends, even if the actual physical dimensions do not."

"TSMC N3B offers ~60% higher transistor density than N5."


"High-NA EUV (0.55 NA) is expected to push semiconductor scaling beyond 2nm (TSMC N2, Intel 18A, Samsung 2nm), but it has fundamental limits that prevent it from being used indefinitely.


This means High-NA EUV can reliably print features down to ~6nm, which corresponds to:

• ~30-35nm gate pitch (CPP)
• ~16-18nm metal pitch (M0)

At this point, quantum effects, lithography precision, and material limitations make further scaling nearly impossible."

 

[Axeia]

TSMC might charge $30,000 per 2nm wafer, but whether the number represents Apple's discount or the standard price remains unclear. For comparison, Apple currently pays $18,000 per 3nm wafer

Hot dayum. Almost doubled in one step up.
Perhaps Intel doesn't even need to catch up that much as long as they can keep costs down whilst not falling further behind.