Apple's iPhone has been around for years. However, the company relies heavily on two main advantages: the iOS system and A-series processors. In particular, the performance of the A-series processors is well ahead of the competition. However, as Moore's law reached its limit, progress in semiconductor technology became increasingly difficult. Apple's A-series processor refresh could also be gradually slowed down, giving competitors a chance to catch up. According to earlier reports, the A16 Bionic processor will continue to use TSMC's 5nm technology. This will be the chip on next year's iPhone 14 series.
The A16 Bionic processor will use the TSMC N4P process technology. This technology is actually an update to the conventional 5nm process technology. However, this is still below the 4nm process technology. According to previous reports, Apple's next-generation processors should use TSMC's 3nm process technology. Previously, TSMC planned to introduce the 3nm process technology into mass production in the second half of 2022. However, TSMC is faced with a bottleneck in the 3nm process technology project and may not be able to launch it into mass production in time.
This could mean that Apple's iPhone 14 series update next year will not focus on performance. The company will have to improve other parameters such as the camera and other equipment. So, don't expect much from the iPhone 14 series in terms of performance. Given that Apple may be using the punch-hole design on the iPhone 14, this will be the main topic of conversation. As a reminder, Apple has been using the notch design since the iPhone X launched in 2017. The company did not change the notch design for four years before the launch of the iPhone 13 series. Even the iPhone 13 series still has a notch, only now it's smaller.
For iPhone fans who love performance, this is clearly not good news. However, this is a reality with which we must agree. It's important to note, however, that even if the iPhone 14 series isn't performance-oriented, it can still far outperform the competition in terms of performance.
Apple's A series chips are now roughly two generations ahead of the Android camp. So Android will take over a year to catch up. So Apple's use of TSMC's 5nm process next year won't have much of an impact on iPhone sales.
