Apple’s A16 Chips Are Now Rocking Arizona! 🌵🎉
Summary
In a groundbreaking twist, Apple’s fancy A16 chips are now having their silicon bath right here in the good ol’ USA—specifically, at TSMC’s shiny new plant in Arizona. It seems that Apple has decided not to just make a chips-and-salsa run, but to actually produce chips on American soil! According to wandering Taiwan-based journalist Tim Culpan, the A16 chips, which made their grand entrance in the iPhone 14 Pro two years ago, are rolling off the production line in modest but significant quantities over at Fab 21. They’re sticking with the same 4nm N4P process that’s been cooking in Taiwan, so you can expect them to be just as snazzy as their overseas cousins! This whole endeavor nudges TSMC’s Arizona plant closer to its 2024 production kick-off for all things Apple. Things are expected to really heat up when phase two of the facility is complete, and we can look forward to full-blown manufacturing by midway through 2025. Not to brag, but trusting a brand-new US location with one of Apple’s star performers—the A16 chip—is like asking your toddler to watch your houseplant for the weekend. It shows a hefty vote of confidence! Now, which lucky Apple gadgets will sip on these Arizona-made chips? The rumor mill suggests they might show up in a shiny new iPad model or, more likely, in the highly-anticipated iPhone SE 4, which is rumored to adopt aspects from the ritzier iPhone 14. But the fun doesn’t stop there! This development is a big win for the $39 billion CHIPS and Science Act—no, that’s not a new board game, but a federal law aimed at boosting America’s semiconductor production. As TSMC gets into the swing of things, sources suggest we might see manufacturing yields at Arizona rivaling those back home in Taiwan. Yay for local production! So gear up for a future where you can say, “Hey, my chip was made in the USA!” not just because you bought a trucker hat.
Original Source: www.macrumors.com
