TSMC to mass-produce 3nm Apple M2 Pro this year; why iPhone 15 Pro is the model to wait for

At WWDC on Monday, Apple unveiled the sequel to its M1 chip, the M2. Once again Apple will rely on the world's largest foundry, TSMC, to build the component using a 5nm process node (more on that in a second). The M2 will offer 18% faster CPU performance over the M1 and the new 10 core GPU delivers 35% better graphics.

Analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities released some notes to clients that were viewed by 9to5Mac. Pu says that TSMC is expected to start building the M2 Pro chipset for Apple later this year using the foundry's 3nm process node. The lower the process node figure, the higher the number of transistors that can fit inside a chip. And that is important because typically the larger the number of transistors inside a chip, the more powerful and energy-efficient that chip is.

Pu also had something to tell his clients about Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset. The analyst says that the device will be unveiled before the Chinese New Year next year (which happens to fall on January 22nd) and will go into mass production the following month. The mixed reality headset will feature Virtual Reality which is when users get immersed in a made-up environment.

The other reality that makes up AR is Augmented Reality. This is when a real-world video feed is covered with an overlay containing data. A good example of AR is the Pokemon GO video game where live real-world video is covered with overlays showing the location of hidden Pokemon.

The headset will reportedly be equipped with as many as 15 cameras, 4K micro-OLED displays, and the ability to track eye movement and hand gestures. Pu also had some things to say about the iPhone; he believes that Apple will debut its own 5G modem design with the 2023 iPhone 15. That same year, Pu expects that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will sport a periscope lens for improved optical zoom capabilities.

We don't know whether the analyst mentioned this in his notes but the iPhone 15 line might be the first to include a USB-C port replacing the Lightning port. If you don't feel like including an iPhone purchase into your budget every year, you might want to hold off your next iPhone purchase until the iPhone 15 is released in 2023. We could be looking at a major redesign for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max device by then.