Apple Reality, India, and security emerge as three of Apple's biggest stories in 2023, but there's another one: Apple Silicon, primarily the shift to 3nm process technology in upcoming A17 and M3 (series) processor upgrades. . We're starting to hear whispers suggesting what these chip upgrades mean.
More computer for less energy
We already know what to expect: more computing performance with less power than before, essentially allowing Apple devices to do more work with less power.
No, as the migration from M1 to M2 has shown, we're not anticipating the same huge leap that the company made by switching from Intel processors to its own chips in the Mac, but the improvements are still generous.
What generosity? Based on claimed Geekbench scores*, we're looking at a 20% performance boost on the upcoming iPhone chip, A17. This boost will result in useful features such as quick image editing and even more beautiful visual effects.
*The claims appear to originate from China, so we have not been able to verify their veracity. But they seem reasonable, given the expected benefits of switching to 3nm process technology. It's worth noting that this leaker also warned of an upcoming yellow iPhone, which was later unveiled.
Leaked A17 benchmarks look promising
The leaker reports single-core scores of 3019 and a multi-core score of 7860 in Geekbench 6. That's the case with the iPhone 16 Pro's A14 Bionic, which hit 2504 and 6314 respectively, but below scores of 3986 and 8841 above. revealed.
While these scores may not be accurate or genuine, they seem to be in line with what is expected from the move to 3nm chips. Processors are around 35% more efficient, according to Digitimes.
It's for the iPhone. Apple is also expected to introduce its first M3 Mac processors this year and most speculations suggest that they too will be based on a 3nm process. Just as the M1 chips are a grown-up version of Apple's mobile processors, the M3 will use some shared assets.
That means it's reasonable to imagine that Macs with these processors will see similar performance gains.
Little background information
To put these anticipated benefits in context, consider Photoshop. Adobe was delighted with the huge 50% performance boost it experienced when it brought Photoshop to Intel's M1 Macs.
When introducing the MacBook Air with the M2 chip in 2022, Apple claimed that it would run certain key Photoshop transitions five times faster than on an Intel Mac, and 20% faster than previous M1 systems. We are now seeing another improvement of around 20%.
It's abundantly clear that Apple's silicon equipment is advancing, and as compute performance per watt improves on every chip, it also means that these new systems will compete even more aggressively with top-of-the-line systems.
The fact that all this performance is built into systems that require significantly less power continues to have big implications for businesses that use a large number of computers. The best recent information came from MacStadium's revelation that the server centers that host its Mac mini servers complained that the computers weren't using as much power as MacStadium was paying for under its hosting plans. On a large scale, it's good for energy bills and good for the environment.
These performance gains are significant. They put Apple at the top of the pack for low power silicon speed and competing systems just can't seem to match them when it comes to power consumption.
Strategic investments, stable track record
This strategic importance is reflected in Apple's investment. TSMC held a ceremony on December 29 at its new Fab 18 construction site in the southern Taiwan science park to announce that it had begun mass production of 3nm chips, estimated to generate revenue of $1,5 trillion. dollars in the next five years.
Digitimes later claimed that Apple purchased all of chipmaker TSMC's 3nm processors, giving it a unique position as the only manufacturer capable of shipping mobile devices and computers with 3nm chips in consumer quantities.
This investment is important because it also provides Apple with a clear path for future improvements to its chips. In a statement, TSMC said: "Compared to the 5nm process (N5), TSMC's 3nm process offers up to 1,6X logic density gain and 30-35% power reduction at the same speed. , and is compatible with the innovative TSMC FINFLEX architecture."
Fun and FINFLEX
FINFLEX provides exclusive benefits to Apple by designing a roadmap for future improvements in chips built at 3nm. This roadmap means we get the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max because the FINFLEX architecture already allows Apple's silicon teams to fine-tune performance and power consumption.
TSMC isn't standing still either: previous reports claim that the company is already preparing to introduce N3E, an upgraded version of its existing 3nm production technology, by the end of this year. Apple is also supposed to be the first customer for this.
So what are we to make of this dizzying array of facts, rumors, and speculation?
Where is this record going?
Apple is not only poised to gain unique advantage as the only vendor with 3nm chips in quantity, but may also make incremental improvements to these processors, with an apparent roadmap for new processor designs next year.
We can't know for sure if this means Apple plans to update some or all of its Macs with new chips every year, as it already does with iPhones, but the frequency with which it introduces new chips indicates that it's possible.
Perhaps you intend to update laptops more frequently, while offering the greatest relative improvement on less frequently updated desktops. But, whichever approach you choose, the days of Macs lagging behind on performance boosts are gone on us. No AIM Alliance hurdles, no waiting for Intel. And TSMC is preparing to expand chip production in the United States, which will help Apple secure processor supplies in the future.
The result is that Apple seems to be able to deliver powerful Mac, iPad and iPhone updates as often as once a year. This means that if Macs still aren't delivering the performance your business needs, it's only a matter of time (which seems like a short time) before they do.
Apple's processor track record will inevitably result in an increase in Mac market share, even as overall PC market growth erodes. And it's not virtual reality.
Follow me on Mastodon or join me at AppleHolic's bar & grill and Apple discussion groups on MeWe.
Copyright © 2023 IDG Communications, Inc.