Next Monday the Mobile World Congress starts in Barcelona. This year’s fair is not only the showcase for the new Smartphones for 2019, but also the showcase to demonstrate the excellence of 5G connectivity and artificial intelligence. In this sense, the main theme is in the shadow of many of the major semiconductor manufacturers. Although this year we will see a huge explosion of chips manufactured in the 7nm process, the latest information shows that Apple is already preparing its 5nm processor.
DigiTimes media has published a precise report in which its sources describe in detail the forecast of Apple and other manufacturers for the processors of their next smartphones. It appears that although the next A13 chip will continue to be manufactured in a 7nm process, Apple has already placed orders with Taiwan microprocessor company TSMC for 5nm chips that will see the light of day on the first iPhone scheduled for 2020.
Smaller and more efficient
The nanometer battle is a small revolution in the industry, led by major manufacturers such as Apple, Huawei and Samsung. Reducing the size of a processor is not directly related to higher performance, in fact it allows the gaps between transistors to be made smaller, resulting in higher energy efficiency and more space for more transistors on the same surface, which ultimately reflects better performance. Although the next iPhone’s A13 is still manufactured in 7nm, TSMC is expected to be used for the first time for Apple, the process known as EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography), which allows more complex microscopic patterns to be implanted in processors.
Ready for AI and 5G
In today’s smartphone landscape, there are not many end devices whose chips are manufactured in a 7nm process, with the main smartphones from Apple, Huawei and Samsung in the foreground. Other chips related to the 5G, such as Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X55 5G, which will see the light of day at the Barcelona show, have also been manufactured using TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process technology. It is still too early to see the first 5nm chips, but we have no doubt that this is a technological race that is less “known” to the public, but has a decisive impact on the future and the development of technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence.