TSMC has just announced an all-new chip production process called “A16”
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will move away from its current processor designs that keep the CPU and GPU cores on the same chip — and see a performance gain.
One of the reasons for Apple Silicon‘s speed over the previous Intel processors has been that each M-series chip has been a single unit. This System-on-a-Chip (SoC) idea cuts bottlenecks by having all the processor’s elements together on one chip package.
According to Kuo, however, Apple is going to change this for the M5 Pro, M5 Max, and M5 Ultra. Only the M5 will remain as a single unit.
Instead, the M5 Pro and other chips will use manufacturer TSMC’s latest chip packaging process. Called the System-in-Integrated-Chips-Molding-Horizontal (SoIC-mH), it puts together different chips into one package.
Apple M5 series chip
1. The M5 series chips will adopt TSMC’s advanced N3P node, which entered the prototype phase a few months ago. M5, M5 Pro/Max, and M5 Ultra mass production is expected in 1H25, 2H25, and 2026, respectively.
2. The M5 Pro, Max, and Ultra will utilize https://t.co/XIWHx5B2Cy— (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) December 23, 2024
The advantage, according to Kuo, is that this will produce “server-grade” packaging. Apple “will use 2.5D packaging” that has “separate CPU and GPU designs,” and which will “improve production yields and thermal performance.”
Kuo says that mass production is expected in 2H25 for the M5 Pro and the M5 Max, and then 2026 for the M5 Ultra. The M5 has reportedly been in the prototyping phrase for a few months, and mass production is believed to be planned for 1H25.
That M5 processor will be produced by TSMC using its N3P technology, which is expected to be seen first in the iPhone 18 range.
Kuo also claims that the M5 Pro processors will be used in Apple Intelligence servers. Specifically, it will be utilized for the company’s Private Cloud Compute technology.
