Apple chips shifting to 3nm process
Apple said its M2 chip was made using a five-nanometre process when it was unveiled at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. That meant its gains over the 5nm M1 chip were limited, but a fresh report hints that the higher-end M2 chips could offer far more substantial improvements.
According to DigiTimes, the M2 Pro (and presumably the M2 Max and M2 Ultra) will be made using a 3nm process. That process will allow for performance to increase “by 10-15% at the same power levels or reduce power by 25-30% at the same transistor speeds,” according to a 2020 report from chip manufacturer TSMC.
However, it might be odd for Apple to switch the manufacturing process halfway through the M2 series rollout. Instead, we could see the move to the 3nm process happen when the M3 range of chips arrives. Either way, it looks like performance upticks are heading for the Mac in the near future.