Apple’s 4nm iPhone chips will be made in the USA

by techlowdown · 1 December 2022

The dream to have a “Made in USA” iPhone is slowly moving forward, as it turns out. The latest news, coming from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, says that TSMC is going to produce 4nm processors for Macs, iPads, iPhones, and other products in its $12 billion factory in Arizona.

The plant is currently under construction, and it’s scheduled to go online sometime in 2024, which means it will probably miss the next generation of iPhones and iPads. According to Gurman, TSMC originally planned to start making 5nm silicon in the factory, but the demand from some US companies for high-end chips made on home soil apparently changed things.

“TSMC previously said it would make 20,000 wafers per month at the Arizona facility, although production may increase from those original plans, the people said. Apple will use about a third of the output as production gets underway.

Apple and other major tech companies rely on TSMC for their chipmaking needs, and the change means they’ll be able to get more of their processors from the US. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has previously told employees that his company plans to source chips from the Arizona plant,”

Gurman wrote.All of the above is still not officially confirmed, and the announcement should come next Tuesday in Phoenix, where President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Apple CEO Tim Cook are expected to meet, along with AMD CEO Lisa Su and Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang.

TSMC is expected to announce its roadmap for the next couple of years, including the construction of yet another adjacent facility that will carry on 3-nanometer chip production for even more advanced future gadgets.