TSMC's 3nm chip production expansion might be delayed as Intel, one of its major clients, suddenly decided to cancel its orders.

If this is true, then the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company needs to make schedule adjustments. As of writing, the 3nm tech or "N3" is a big deal in the tech industry. 

This chipset development method is expected to offer up to 15% speed improvement, 30% power consumption reduction, as well as 70% logic density gain. 

However, it seems like TSMC needs to reconsider its original 3nm chip mass production plan after the surprising order cancelation of Intel. 

TSMC 3nm Chip Delay Might Happen! 

According to MacRumors' latest report, TSMC's 3nm chipset mass production was first scheduled for the second half of 2022. 

However, because of some verification and design issues, the giant SoC maker was forced to move the expansion plan to the first half of 2023. 

Now, TrendForce reported that another delay is expected to happen.

People who are familiar with the work of Intel said that the chipmaker was supposed to outsource its tGPU chipset in Meteor Lake to TSMC. 

But, the sudden order cancelation is now affecting TSMC's 3nm chipset expansion goal. Because of the postponement, the SoC developer is left with no choice but to slow down progress. 

This is needed so that the production capacity will not idle too long.  

Will It Affect Apple's A17 Bionic Chip? 

The sudden Intel order cancelation now makes Apple among the first clients to receive TSMC's first wave of 3nm chipsets. 

The giant iPhone maker scheduled its ordered 3nm SoCs between the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023. 

Among the chipsets that Apple will receive from the Taiwanese tech, manufacturer are the advanced A17 bionic chip and the new M-series models. 

As of press time, it is still unclear if the expansion progress adjustments of TSMC will affect the launch of A17 chipsets. 

On the other hand, there's no confirmation yet if the sudden changes will lessen the volume of Apple's ordered 3nm SoCs. 

If you want to see more details about Intel's canceled TSMC 3nm SoC order, you can visit this link. 

Meanwhile, the Apple 3nm M2 Pro mass production by TSMC was recently confirmed. 

Previously, Samsung's 3nm chip was completed, allowing it to overtake TSMC. 

Source - TechTimes.