iPhone 12 family may become the first smartphones to be powered by a 5nm chip

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TSMC will be the sole foundry making the Apple A14 chipsets for the 2020 iPhone models, reports DigiTimes (quoting China’s Commercial Times). Production will start in the second quarter of this year in preparation for the traditional end of Q3 launch.

The A14 will be made using TSMC’s new 5nm process and Apple’s order will take up two thirds of the foundry’s capacity. There’s a chance the iPhone 12 phones will be the first to hit the market with a 5nm chipset. Back in 2018 the iPhone XS duo was the first with a 7nm chip.

TSMC will soon start building 5nm Apple A14 chipsets for the upcoming iPhones
HiSilicon, Huawei’s chipset division, is reported to be the other customer of TSMC’s initial 5nm production. Huawei may beat the Apple to the punch – the Mate 40 family will be powered by the Kirin 1020, which is expected to be fabbed using a 5nm process.

The Snapdragon 865 and Kirin 990 are already confirmed to use a 7nm process. Note that these nanometers are just a guideline, the true advantage of the 5nm process compared to TSMC’s N7P used for the Snapdragon are yet to be confirmed.