Apple’s A20 Pro debuts TSMC’s 2nm process: chip costs surge.
A new wave of artificial intelligence is emerging, with companies such as Nvidia and AMD increasing their demand for GPUs. As a core customer of TSMC, Apple’s dominant position is facing new challenges, and the relationship between TSMC and Apple is gradually changing.
Last August, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei visited Apple and brought bad news: Apple had to accept the largest price increase for its foundry services in years, a result that Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team had no choice but to accept. In the past few quarters, Wei had hinted at price increases in earnings calls, and the continued rise in gross margins demonstrates TSMC’s growing pricing power.
Due to TSMC’s price increase, the cost of Apple’s upcoming A20 series chips will rise significantly. Market sources indicate that the price of TSMC’s 2nm wafers will exceed $30,000, almost double that of 4nm wafers.
It is reported that the iPhone 18 Pro series, which will be launched in the second half of this year, will be the first to use the A20 Pro chip, which will be the first to adopt TSMC’s 2nm process. If the price of the A20 Pro chip increases significantly, the possibility of an increase in the price of the iPhone 18 series cannot be ruled out.
It’s worth noting that due to TSMC’s tight 2nm capacity, Apple, which once dominated TSMC’s customer list, is now having to compete with other customers for capacity. Reports suggest that Apple may no longer be TSMC’s largest customer, and the cooperation between the two parties is about to undergo a change.
Apple is currently discussing restarting its partnership with Intel, planning to jointly produce chips for Macs and iPhones. Although it is widely believed that Apple will not completely abandon TSMC, related reports also indicate that Apple is adopting a diversification strategy for its supply chain.
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