Taiwanese company TSMC’s Fab 21 plant in Arizona (USA) began producing Apple A16 chips, which debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro smartphone two years ago, MacRumors writes, citing independent Taiwanese journalist Tim Culpan. The A16 chips are manufactured in Arizona using the same 4nm N4P process as TSMC’s Taiwan fabs to ensure consistency in quality and performance, Kalpan said.
Image Source: TSMC
The chips are currently being produced in “small but significant quantities”, but their output will increase significantly once the first phase of the plant is completed, with full-scale production planned for the first half of 2025. According to Kalpana’s sources, the A16 yield at TSMC’s plant could approach parity with that achieved at its Taiwan plants in the coming months.
MacRumors noted that the choice of the Fab 21 plant in Arizona to produce the A16 chip speaks to Apple’s confidence in the new production, since the company could well have chosen a less advanced component to produce there to begin with.
It’s unclear which Apple devices will use the Arizona-made A16 chips. It is possible that they will be equipped with future iPad tablets, although most likely they will find use in the next generation iPhone SE, given that the iPhone SE 4 will be based on the iPhone 14.