News & Reviews:   5nm

2021 is no doubt the year for 5nm chipsets to become the staple in the smartphone industry. With Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm already presented theirs, it's time for another huge chip manufacturer MediaTek to do the job. On 20 January, the manufacturer will hold an event to introduce its latest invention.

Before Apple launches its new MacBooks, it was believed that the chipset used is the A14X Bionic. Whatever it is, the fact is that the TSMC-manufactured chip is powerful and future chips are only going to get better. Now, sources claim that the A16 chipset could be available as early as late 2021.

As you know, electronics require microchips. TSMC has been a leader in this area has kept ahead of rival Samsung for the past few years. Although Samsung could be ready for the transition to 3nm soon, it looks like major companies like Apple may still choose TSMC for 3nm and even 2nm chips.

Based on a statement by TSMC, it seems that they are currently working on 5nm and 6nm process which will not only increase the performance of the chipset, but also make it much more energy-efficient. But that’s not all, they’ve also confirmed that 3nm and 4nm manufacturing process is currently in development and it is expected to enter mass production somewhere around the year 2022.

When it comes to mobile devices, most brands source from either Qualcomm, MediaTek, or Samsung. But Apple makes its own chips and has benefitted from having that control. Now, Google is following suit as rumours claim that the company is developing an in-house chipset for future Pixel smartphones and Chromebook devices.

Although many companies are said to be facing production issues due to coronavirus, it seems that at least Apple has one thing going right for it. Reports say that TSMC is set to begin mass production of the Apple A14 chipset in April 2020. This means that the chipsets are on schedule and would make it for the launch of the iPhone 12 series later this year.