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Apple's A15 Bionic will reportedly be based on TSMC's N5P process

By Anam Hamid

Published: Oct 27, 2020, 5:01 PM

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Apple's A15 Bionic will reportedly be based on TSMC's N5P process

Although the iPhone 13 is a long time off, the first details about the handset have already started trickling in. China Times (translated here) has dished out some intel regarding the A15 Bionic chip that will supposedly power the 2021 iPhones.

Apple has apparently already started working on the A15 chipset, and it will reportedly enter mass production in the third quarter of 2021. The chip will reportedly be manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) N5P process.

N5P tech offers a 5 percent speed gain or a 10 percent reduction in power consumption when compared to N5

The A14 Bionic that underpins the iPhone 12 series is based on TSMC's first-generation 5nm fabrication process known as N5. Compared to the 7nm FinFET (N7) tech, N5 offers nearly 15 percent better performance or around 30 percent improved power efficiency.

The N5P node will be based on the current 5nm technology and per TSMC, it will provide around 20 percent speed improvement or 40 percent reduction in power when compared to the 7nm process.

The report also claims that TSMC's current 5nm process will also be used to make the A14X silicon for the next iPad Pro and a MacBook, as well as the A14T chip for an iMac. The successors to these processors will apparently be manufactured using the N5P process.

Benchmark scores suggest that the A14 Bionic is a significant improvement over iPhone 11's A13 Bionic which is based on TSMC's 2nd generation 7nm N7P process. In fact, one report even implies that Apple has underclocked the A14 on the iPhone 12, possibly to prevent overheating issues.

The iPhone 13 is almost confirmed to employ Qualcomm's Snapdragon X60 5G modem. The phone will most certainly have a 120Hz screen too.

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.