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Industry reports said Apple reserved all of TSMC’s initial 3nm supply, but that does not mean Apple bought every 3nm chip TSMC would ever make. The reported allocation concerned early wafer capacity for TSMC’s first-generation N3 process. TSMC confirmed that N3 entered volume production in December 2022; it did not confirm the reported customer-allocation percentages.
What did “Apple procured the entire first run” mean?
Reports in 2023 attributed to industry sources said Apple had secured 100% of TSMC’s initial N3 supply. A separate report said Apple had booked nearly 90% of N3B capacity in 2023. Those are industry estimates, not figures TSMC confirmed in its official statements. “Entire first run” therefore means reported reservations of early production capacity—not ownership of every 3nm chip TSMC could make over the life of the process.
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MacRumors relayed the February 2023 report that Apple had procured the initial N3 supply, while DigiTimes reporting cited by MacRumors described Apple’s near-90% booking of N3B capacity. The reports concern related but not identical measures and should not be read as a single, audited allocation figure: MacRumors’ report on initial N3 supply and MacRumors’ report on N3B capacity.
When did TSMC’s 3nm production begin?
TSMC announced on December 29, 2022, that its 3nm technology had entered volume production with good yields. The company had said the first-generation N3 process entered volume production in the second half of 2022. Its announcement verifies the manufacturing milestone, not the reported share of capacity reserved for Apple. See TSMC’s December 2022 announcement.
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Which iPhone first used Apple’s 3nm chip?
The iPhone 15 Pro introduced the A17 Pro, associated with TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process. That product connection helps explain why Apple was described as the leading early customer for N3. It does not establish that every Apple product using a later chip—or every 3nm product from TSMC—uses the same process variant.
How do TSMC N3, N3B, and N3E differ?
N3 is TSMC’s first-generation 3nm process. N3B is the designation used in reports about Apple’s early capacity bookings. N3E is an enhanced successor process with a different published performance and power comparison. The allocation reports and the process specifications answer separate questions: the former concern who reportedly booked capacity, while the latter describe TSMC’s claimed process characteristics.
| Process | Timing and status | TSMC-published comparison with N5 | Apple product connection established here |
|---|---|---|---|
| N3, first-generation 3nm | Entered volume production in the second half of 2022; TSMC announced the milestone in December 2022. | Up to 1.6× logic density and 30–35% lower power at the same speed. | A17 Pro in iPhone 15 Pro is associated with this first-generation process. |
| N3B | Near-90% of 2023 capacity reportedly booked by Apple, according to DigiTimes; this is an industry report, not TSMC-confirmed allocation data. | Not stated in the cited TSMC comparison. | Early Apple capacity booking is reported; a distinct product mapping is not stated here. |
| N3E | Enhanced successor described on TSMC’s platform page. | Approximately 20% speed improvement and more than 30% power savings versus N5, according to TSMC. | A specific Apple product using N3E is not established here. |
These figures are TSMC’s process claims, not a promise that every chip made on a node will deliver the same gains. N3’s figures are described as “up to” for logic density and as a power reduction at the same speed; N3E’s figures are a platform-level comparison. TSMC’s technology platform page gives its current N3E comparison, and its N3 announcement provides the first-generation N3 figures.
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Did Apple control TSMC’s early 3nm supply?
Apple appears to have been the dominant early customer based on the reported reservations, but the evidence does not support saying it controlled TSMC’s 3nm production generally. The 100% figure refers to reported initial N3 supply; the nearly 90% figure refers to reported N3B capacity booked in 2023. Neither is an official TSMC disclosure, and neither means Apple owned TSMC’s manufacturing capacity or all future 3nm output.
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