TSMC confirms that they will begin mass producing 3nm chipsets later this year
There are many factors that can determine how powerful and efficient a chipset is. Obviously the design of the chipset is one of them, the number of cores it uses, and the type of cores that it uses. But there is also another aspect that needs to be considered, and that is the manufacturing process.
When speaking about chipsets, some of you might notice the term “nanometer” being used and there is a reason this is important. This is because the smaller the process, the more efficient a chip is, and the good news is that TSMC has announced that in the second half of 2022, they will begin mass production of chipsets built on the 3nm process.
For those who might be wondering why this matters, basically the smaller the process, the shorter the physical distance is between the circuitry. You could think of it like driving a car to your destination, where taking the shorter route means you not only get to your destination earlier, but you use less fuel in the process.
While TSMC might be typically associated with Apple, the company does help produce chipsets by other companies that supply chips to Android devices. This includes companies like MediaTek and Qualcomm, with the latter expected to give all of its 3nm work to TSMC instead of splitting between both TSMC and Samsung.
This means that phones launching in the second half of 2022 or 2023 should feature chipsets built on the 3nm process, making them more powerful and efficient. The company also stated that they expect to begin mass production of chipsets using the even smaller 2nm process in 2025.
Source: Patently Apple