Apple Chipmaker Discusses Highly Advanced 1.4nm Chips for First Time

TSMC has officially mentioned its work on 1.4nm fabrication technology that is likely destined to underpin future Apple silicon chips.

apple silicon 1 feature
In a slide (via SemiAnalysis's Dylan Patel) from its Future of Logic panel, TSMC disclosed the official name of its 1.4nm node for the first time, "A14." The company's 1.4nm technology is expected to follow its "N2" 2nm chips.

N2 is scheduled for mass production in late 2025, to be followed by an enhanced "N2P" node in late 2026. As a result, it is unlikely that any A14 chips will arrive before 2027.

Apple was the first company to utilize TSMC's 3nm technology with the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the company is likely to follow suit with the chipmaker's upcoming nodes. Apple's latest chip technology has historically appeared in the iPhone before making its way to the iPad and Mac lineups. With all of the latest information, here's how the iPhone's chip technology could look going forward:

  • iPhone XR and XS (2018): A12 Bionic (7nm, N7)
  • iPhone 11 lineup (2019): A13 Bionic (7nm, N7P)
  • iPhone 12 lineup (2020): A14 Bionic (5nm, N5)
  • iPhone 13 Pro (2021): A15 Bionic (5nm, N5P)
  • iPhone 14 Pro (2022): A16 Bionic (4nm, N4P)
  • iPhone 15 Pro (2023): A17 Pro (3nm, N3B)
  • iPhone 16 Pro (2024): "A18" (3nm, N3E)
  • "iPhone 17 Pro" (2025): "A19" (2nm, N2)
  • "iPhone 18 Pro" (2026): "A20" (2nm, N2P)
  • "iPhone 19 Pro" (2027): "A21" (1.4nm, A14)

The M1 series of Apple silicon chips is based on the A14 Bionic and uses TSMC's N5 node, while the M2 and M3 series use N5P and N3B, respectively. The Apple Watch's S4 and S5 chips use N7, the S6, S7, and S8 chips use N7P, and the latest S9 chip uses N4P.

Each successive TSMC node surpasses its predecessor in terms of transistor density, performance, and efficiency. Earlier this week, it emerged that TSMC had already demonstrated prototype 2nm chips to Apple ahead of their expected introduction in 2025.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple iPhone 16e Feature

Apple Announces iPhone 16e With A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Pricing Starts at $599

Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued. The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iphone 17 pro asherdipps

iPhone 17 Pro Models Rumored to Feature Aluminum Frame Instead of Titanium Frame

Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models. In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Two of Apple's Oldest Products Are Finally Getting Updated This Year

Friday February 14, 2025 6:03 am PST by
Apple released the HomePod mini in November 2020, followed by the AirTag in May 2021, and both still remain first-generation products. Fortunately, rumors suggest that both the HomePod mini and the AirTag will finally be updated at some point this year. Below, we recap rumors about the HomePod mini 2 and AirTag 2. HomePod mini 2 In January 2025, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple is ...
macbook air blue

Gurman: M4 MacBook Air Models to Launch by March 'At the Latest'

Monday February 17, 2025 2:30 am PST by
Apple will begin selling new MacBook Air models featuring its latest M4 chip by March "at the latest," mirroring the time frame of the M3 MacBook Air launch last year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple last updated the MacBook Air line in March 2024. Gurman's comments appeared in his latest Power On newsletter, suggesting the reporter is no further forward on learning the exact...
iPhone 17 Air Front Page Tech 2

'iPhone 17 Air' With Ultra-Thin Design Allegedly Revealed in New Video

Monday February 17, 2025 6:53 pm PST by
YouTube channel Front Page Tech today revealed the alleged design of Apple's widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" model, set to launch later this year. "iPhone 17 Air" render created by @zellzoi for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech shared renders depicting what it believes is likely the final design of the "iPhone 17 Air." The device is expected to feature an ultra-thin...

Top Rated Comments

Infodataset Avatar
16 months ago
Introducing our 1.4 nm chip M6 With 8 gb of ram?
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darngooddesign Avatar
16 months ago
Introducing the M6 MacBook Pro with the M6-Pro, using the 1.4nm in the A14, but not that A14.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
16 months ago
I can't wait to see a 1.4nm chip in the 2027 MacBook Air and iMac!

...paired with 8 GB of RAM and 256 of storage. Starting at [S]$1300[/S] $1299. ?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tenthousandthings Avatar
16 months ago
Apple's "A18" will be on N3P, not N3E, but otherwise the predicted iPhone sequence is as good a guess as we can make.

On TSMC's naming, just to be clear, the "A" stands for angstrom (10 angstrom = 1 nanometer) and should technically be an Å -- in the age of Unicode, there's no reason why TSMC can't simply use Å instead of A, but I suppose the marketing people objected to that. But we can hope that, when it's all official and not just a tech-conference slide for people who all know that A = Å, maybe TSMC will use Å instead of A...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darngooddesign Avatar
16 months ago

I can't wait to see a 1.4nm chip in the 2027 MacBook Air and iMac!

...paired with 8 GB of RAM and 256 of storage. Starting at [S]$1300[/S] $1299. ?
No way, by 2027 12GB will be the base RAM. LOL
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ShiftHappens Avatar
16 months ago
Oh no! My 2nm MBP that I was planning to buy in 2025 is already obsolete!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)