Apple and TSMC start production of previous iPhone chips in the US

Fab 21, a recently opened TSMC 5-nanometer semiconductor fab near Phoenix, Arizona, has started manufacturing chips for Apple.

According to the sources of Tim Culpan, an independent journalist from Taiwan, here Apple manufactures A16 systems on a chip (SoC). These processors were introduced two years ago for the iPhone 14 Pro family and are also used for 15 and 15 Plus models.

Culpan reports that initial volumes are “small, but significant,” but the numbers will ramp up considerably once the second stage is completed.

Apple A16 Bionic chips were touted as the first 4 nm processors in a smartphone, as they were manufactured on the N4P process. This is a de facto 5 nm fabrication process with enhancements in performance.

“The fact that they went for the most advanced chip they could manage on US soil, in terms of both technology and volume, shows Apple and TSMC want to start big,” Culpan said.

“Six months ago, I thought Apple might tap Arizona for a less consequential chip like the H-series used in AirPods. I was surprised when I heard it was the A16.”

TSMC’s spokeswoman told the journalist that the Arizona project is proceeding as planned with good progress.

The fab in Arizona will receive up to $6.6 billion of direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, according to a non-binding memorandum signed in April. TSMC said it will invest more than $65 billion in Arizona and will produce the most advanced leading-edge semiconductors in the US.

While the iPhone 15 remains in the current Apple lineup, there are some speculations that A16 chips may also be used for one of the upcoming iPads, another likelihood is the next iteration of iPhone SE models.

According to TSMC, Arizona’s three fabs are expected to create approximately 6,000 direct high-tech, high-wage jobs. The second fab will produce “the world’s most advanced 2nm process technology with next-generation nanosheet transistors in addition to the previously announced 3nm technology, with production beginning in 2028.” The third fab will produce chips using even more advanced processes.