With the Pixel 11 stuck on a 3nm chip, the door is wide open for a new iPhone to once again call dibs on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) latest process. The 2nm node is going to make the iPhone 18 Pro's and iPhone Ultra's A20 Pro chip significantly faster and more power efficient, says a new leak.
A full node leap
The A20 Pro is going to be the first chip made on TSMC's 2nm process. | Image by Fixed Focus Digital
Weibo leaker Fixed Focus Digital claims that the A20 Pro chip will be 18% faster and 30% more power-efficient than the iPhone 17 Pro's N3P-based A19 Pro chipset.
They also reiterated that TSMC's 2nm tech is the first to use gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet transistors. As promising as those improvements sound, however, they are going to drive Apple's procurement costs through the roof.
Do you sweat over how fast the chip under the hood is?
What's the big deal?
TSMC's 2nm process. | Image by TSMC
TSMC's N2 or 2nm process promises a 10 to 15% speed gain at the same power, or a 25% to 30% reduction in power consumption at the same performance compared to the N3E process. It boosts transistor density by up to 20%, meaning it can pack more punch in the same footprint.
The upgraded GAA transistor structure provides tighter electrostatic control than the previous Fin Field-Effect Transistor (FinFET) design. This will boost performance and lower energy consumption.
N2 also incorporates super-high-performance metal-insulator-metal (SHPMIM) capacitors to squeeze out even more speed and energy efficiency, perTom's Hardware.
More changes
According to earlier reports, the A20 Pro will adopt Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) packaging, integrating the chip directly with RAM for improved thermals and faster memory access times. Apple is also expected to ditch 64-bit LPDDR5X memory for 96-bit LPDDR6, resulting in higher bandwidth and better sustained performance.
Will the iPhone 18 Pro be the fastest phone around?
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.
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