Kuo: iPhone 18 Models Will Feature 2nm Chips

[ChrisA]

So the feature sizes measured in "nm" keep shrinking. What happens as we get closer to zero? There is really not much room left for shrinking. Then what? Apple will have reached a limit and can't make it better just by depending on TMSC to improve the process.

Airliners did this too. For 50 years they got faster and better range. The DC3 was first then later the 737 and so on. But now we seem to have reached a limit where we can buy a ticket and fly at just under the speed of sound to any place in the world, non-stop. Aircraft speed is not a hard limit, like 0 nm. but going faster requires immensely more power and cost. So "just under the speed of sound" is a firm economic limit.

Computer chips will be like this and the time is getting closer They are already cheap enough, small enough, and fast enough and there is very little demand from users to make the chips better.

All technology is like this, when it is new, the technology advances quickly and then as it matures, it slowly reaches some limit and movement slows greatly.

 

[ifxf]

I don't really care about all this talk about the potential performance of the A20 chip. Just fix the software of all these hiccups and bugs that seems to be plaguing the for past few years of iOS, macOS and iPadOS. Just fix the damn software. Period. What good is the chip if the software is garbage?

I don’t see bugs, just new irritations added with each new release. Enabling AI is one example and ipads not getting the same features as ios.

 

[Radeon85]

And the iPhone 19 I predict will have the A21

 

[cicalinarrot]

Sometimes the obvious news still needs to be reported on, and then someone will make a comment saying it is obvious, and then life carries on.

Came here to write about the same thing, I wanted to end it with "it's the circle of life" xD
But I wanted to add that comments about rumors saying "it's just rumors!!!" on a blog called "macrumors" is still traffic.

 

[macfacts]

but people aren't asking for smaller cpu, they are asking for flush camera bump

 

[richard13]

So the feature sizes measured in "nm" keep shrinking. What happens as we get closer to zero? There is really not much room left for shrinking. Then what? Apple will have reached a limit and can't make it better just by depending on TMSC to improve the process.

I think they will keep shrinking until they cannot (not trying to be cheeky). I would imagine there would be a point where the semiconductor properties would break down. My guess is that beyond 1nm you will start seeing processes with say, 500pm (picometer).

 

[Siliconguy]

Let me know when they hit 0nm chips.

They will shift to picometers first. A silicon atom is 220 pm across.

After that they can go to multiples of the Planck Length since apparently chip process length has nothing to do with a physical distance.

Oh, I almost forgot the Barn. That is a sort of area not directly related to actual area.

Barn (unit) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[soyazul]

I don't really care about all this talk about the potential performance of the A20 chip. Just fix the software of all these hiccups and bugs that seems to be plaguing the for past few years of iOS, macOS and iPadOS. Just fix the damn software. Period. What good is the chip if the software is garbage?

Just install a new version when it gets to X.4 in Mac and X.2 in iOS

 

[soyazul]

Moars Law: the observation that the number of bugs in iOS is exponentially and inversely proportionate to the nm process of Apple's chips

Just install a new version when it gets to X.4 in Mac and X.2 in iOS

 

[eleuthero]

I think they will keep shrinking until they cannot (not trying to be cheeky). I would imagine there would be a point where the semiconductor properties would break down. My guess is that beyond 1nm you will start seeing processes with say, 500pm (picometer).

I would love to know how the nanometer term became just marketing magic. Saying something has only a 45 nm gate (2nm process if Wikipedia is right) instead of a 48 nm (3nm process) gate is still really impressive physically. How long ago did the smoke and mirrors get adopted and what was the reason for it?

 

[snipr125]

They will shift to picometers first. A silicon atom is 220 pm across.

After that they can go to multiples of the Planck Length since apparently chip process length has nothing to do with a physical distance.

Oh, I almost forgot the Barn. That is a sort of area not directly related to actual area.

Barn (unit) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Seriously, is it physically possible to make a chip the size of a Quark or Planck length?

 

[Skyscraperfan]

I wonder when this marketing guys will come up with a "0nm chip".

 

[Jensend]

My guess is that beyond 1nm you will start seeing processes with say, 500pm (picometer).

They will shift to picometers first. A silicon atom is 220 pm across.

Intel and TSMC are using angstrom, which is a tenth of a nanometer, to refer to future chip designs. Intel is using 20A to refer to their "2nm" chip. TSMC will start with their A16 process, equivalent to 1.6nm.

So as the Apple A-series chip number gets higher, the process A number will be getting smaller.

 

[iGüey]

Come on Apple! Please first fix all the mess you created with Apple Intelligence, and then you may think in a generation of iPhones two years ahead from the current ones.

 

[JohnC1959]

Come on Apple! Please first fix all the mess you created with Apple Intelligence, and then you may think in a generation of iPhones two years ahead from the current ones.

But then they'd have to lay off all those engineers working on next generation hardware.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

but people aren't asking for smaller cpu, they are asking for flush camera bump

You say "people aren't asking for smaller cpu, they are asking for flush camera bump." Some of us ask for improved cameras and do not care if the bump gets worse. So far Apple's market research apparently has agreed more with me than with you, but maybe the rumored thin iPhone will appeal to you folks who want less camera competence.

 

[JohnC1959]

You say "people aren't asking for smaller cpu, they are asking for flush camera bump." Some of us ask for improved cameras and do not care if the bump gets worse. So far Apple's market research apparently has agreed more with me than with you, but maybe the rumored thin iPhone will appeal to you folks who want less camera competence.

It's always interesting when someone posts that "people want X". Sure some want X, others Y, and so on. It's hard for some to see that there really is a broad span of user types and interests. Personally, I would love no camera bump but ONLY if they found a bit of magic to do so with no loss in features or performance.

 

[StoneJack]

Apple hardware evolution is very impressive

 

[iGüey]

but people aren't asking for smaller cpu, they are asking for flush camera bump

People are asking for Apple Intelligence that actually works.

 

[iGüey]

Apple hardware evolution is very impressive

Not as impressive as its “Intelligence”.

 

[JohnC1959]

People are asking for Apple Intelligence that actually works.

some like myself will "ask" something different from the software group vs the hardware group.

 

[iGüey]

some like myself will "ask" something different from the software group vs the hardware group.

Apple hardware evolution is very impressive

Hardware evolution don’t have a real use if the iOS (software) evolution doesn't go hand in hand.

 

[JohnC1959]

Hardware evolution don’t have a real use if the iOS (software) evolution doesn't go hand in hand.

It's very true that great hardware sucks without great software to run on it. So they need to get their act together on the software. But we sure wouldn't want the hardware to stand still while they work on it. When the software is finally good we want the very best hardware ready to go to let that software shine. After all, it's not as though most of those working on the hardware will be of much value moving over to help on the software.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Not actual measurements???
"How much do I owe you?"
"One hundred dollars. But not really one hundred dollars."

Think of it as a nominal nomenclature but still based around dimensionality. Like a 2x4 piece of lumber. Everyone in construction knows it is not 2.0" x 4.0" but nevertheless everyone knows what it is, and that one can still find actual size 2" x 4" lumber in old buildings.

Anyone seriously into computing knows that "3nm chip" does not simplistically reference silicon 3.0 nm x 3.0 nm, and that all 3nm chips are not the same. The many folks here claiming to be waiting for 2nm because 2nm will be some kind of magic IMO do not get the process at all.

 

[iGüey]

When the software is finally good

Being honest, we don’t even know if these times will ever arrive…