2023-07-14 19:06:26
The supplier TSMC is unable to meet Apple’s request for the manufacture of the A17 Bionic and M3 chips engraved in 3 nm. Therefore, Apple is paying a special rate until production ramps up.
Apple has already secured 90% of TSMC’s 3 nm chipsets for the assembly of the A17 Bionic and M3 chips that will equip the brand’s future devices and in particular iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max expected this fall. Nevertheless, the production of the supplier TSMC does not yet reach an optimal yield. Apple therefore pays a special rate at TSMC instead of the usual price.
iPhone 15 Pro Max render © @UniverseIce/Twitter
TSMC currently has a 55% rate of return for the manufacture of the A17 Bionic and the M3 chip. This means that almost half of the wafers produced by TSMC with the 3nm process is considered to be a bad batch. Remember also that the wafer is a very thin wafer of monocrystalline semiconductor material. This is the basis used for the creation of microstructures.
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Apple will pay TSMC up to $17,000 per wafer when rate of return hits 70%
With an efficiency rate of only 55%, TSMC only charges for chips that have been fully tested instead of charging for the number of wafers in total. Nevertheless, according to Brett Simpson who is the principal analyst at Arete Research, Apple will pay the usual rate once more as soon as the rate of return will reach 70%.
TSMC, which will increase its CoWoS packaging capacity to meet the demand for NVIDIA GPUs, will then charge the standard price for the wafers, which can reach up to $17,000 per wafer. In its report, EE Times estimates that this 70% rate of return will not be achieved until at least the first half of 2024. Until then, Apple will therefore continue to pay the special rate.
Either way, Apple will launch the iPhone 15 within a few months from now. The high-end models, i.e. the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will benefit from the A17 Bionic chip. Apple therefore plans to start mass production from August. The Cupertino company may not say if TSMC’s rate of return has improved by then, but the availability of premium iPhone models around the world will be a good indicator.
Source : EE Times
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