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One of Apple's mobile application processors is being built in the U.S. by TSMC

By Alan Friedman

Published: Sep 18, 2024, 5:09 AM

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Diagram of Apple's A16 application processor with different segments of the SoC drawn.

For the first time in the history of Apple, one of the the company's application processors, also known as Apple's A-series chipsets, is being built in the United States. The A16 Bionic chip was used by Apple to power the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, and the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. Independent journalist Tim Culpan, who formerly wrote Bloomberg's opinion column covering tech in Asia, said that the application processor could be used for the upcoming seventh-generation Apple iPad mini and possibly the iPhone SE 4. Both of those products could be unveiled as soon as next month.

Interestingly, the U.S. fab building the APs is expected to reach yield parity with Taiwan in just a few months. The SoC is built using an enhanced 5nm process node which most of us media types have called 4nm. The A16 Bionic is equipped with 16 billion transistors compared with 19 billion in the A17 Pro component which is used to run the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. For a U.S. fab to reach yield parity with Taiwan after such a brief period of time would be quite an achievement for the world's largest chip manufacturer..

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Getting TSMC to build multiple fabs in the U.S. was a positive development for the U.S. as the country hopes to eventually become self-sufficient in chip production which would take away the fears that U.S. tech companies have of China attacking Taiwan to take over TSMC.

TSMC's Arizona factory is producing A16 Bionic chips for Apple products. | Image credit-Unknown

According to Culpan's sources, the factory that is producing the A16 SoC in Arizona is TSMC's Fab 21and the application processor will be produced in "small, but significant, numbers." This stage one production is a test to see how the factory is operating. Once stage one is over, the production volume will ramp up. If everything stays as is, the fab will hit a production target by the first half of 2025.

Manufacturing chips is a precise business and if something is off by even a fraction of a millimeter, the production will not meet quality controls. So to hear that in a few months, the processors used in some of Apple's mobile devices will have been "made in the USA" is something that many never thought would occur so soon or even at all.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.