According to media reports on September 14, citing people familiar with the matter, Apple hopes to be the first company to use TSMC's upgraded 3-nanometer chip manufacturing technology next year, and plans to use the technology on some iPhone and Mac.

According to people familiar with the matter, the A17 mobile processor currently under development by Apple will be mass-produced using TSMC's N3E chip manufacturing technology (3nm Enhanced). They also said that the A17 will be used in the high-end models of the iPhone lineup scheduled to be released in 2023.

TSMC's N3E technology, an upgraded version of the current first-generation 3-nanometer technology (N3), is expected to begin testing this year and mass production in the second half of next year.

Nanoscale refers to the width between transistors on a chip. When the width between transistors on a chip is smaller, the number of transistors increases, making it more powerful, while making it more challenging and expensive to produce.

According to previous overseas media reports, compared with N5 (5 nanometers), N3E reduces power consumption by 34% under the same performance and density, increases performance by 18% under the same power consumption and density, or can increase transistor density by 60%.

As TSMC's largest customer and the biggest promoter of new semiconductor technology, Apple remains TSMC's most loyal partner in adopting the latest chip technology.