logo
TSMC Is Targeting 2028 for Its A14 1.4nm Process

TSMC Is Targeting 2028 for Its A14 1.4nm Process

Yahoo08-05-2025
Hoo boy. Things are about to get tricky when talking about chip technologies. That's because TSMC finally made good on its promise to change its name structure for sub-2nm chips to one Apple already uses for its own processors. TSMC is going from its N naming convention—as in, N2, its 2nm process—to A for chips smaller than 2nm.
The first of these will be A16 and A14, the latter of which TSMC just highlighted at the North America Technology Symposium. That's the upcoming 1.4nm process, which is not to be confused with Apple's A14 Bionic SoC. (Apple's chip appears in some older iPhones and is not made with a sub-nm process.)
Perhaps worse is that Intel also uses the A naming structure—and for the same reason TSMC adopted it. The A in Intel's highly anticipated new A18, 1.8nm-class process stands for Angstrom, a unit of measurement suited to the ever-shrinking die processes.
TSMC says that the A14 process will be a vast improvement compared with the N2 process. A14 offers as much as 15% faster speed than N2. And to top it off, A14 uses significantly less power, up to 30% less, than N2. TSMC plans to make chips for automotive, IoT, and smartphone uses, and will support N4C RF in N2 chips. And, of course, TSMC expects N2 to be picked up in large quantities for AI use. The company will have 9.5 reticle size Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) tech, supporting 12+ HBM stacks, by 2027.
TSMC Fab 21. Credit: TSMC
'TSMC's cutting-edge logic technologies like A14 are part of a comprehensive suite of solutions that connect the physical and digital worlds to unleash our customers' innovation for advancing the AI future,' TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei said in a statement.
Don't expect to see A14 chips for a few years, though, with N2 hitting its stride and A16s on target for mass production in 2026. Chips based on the A16 process (not to be confused with Apple's 4nm A16 SoCs, also likely made in Arizona) will most likely reach the data center market in early 2027. The A16 process will be TSMC's first to include backside power delivery, also known as Super Power Rail, which allows for better performance and energy efficiency.
It seems likely that TSMC will make at least some of its A14 wafers in the US, given that it already plans to make Fab 21 (its Arizona campus) sub-2nm capable in the coming years.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

iOS 26 guide: All the new features for your iPhone and how to use them
iOS 26 guide: All the new features for your iPhone and how to use them

Tom's Guide

time14 minutes ago

  • Tom's Guide

iOS 26 guide: All the new features for your iPhone and how to use them

Any iOS update is going to have its share of unfamiliar features with new twists and turns that you may not immediately grasp. Apple's iOS 26 update is a case in point, as this year's version of the iPhone software rolls out new capabilities and enhancements to old features while also switching up the interface for the first time in a dozen years. For the most part, these are positive changes, as I observe in my iOS 26 first look, but they will take some getting used to. Fortunately, we've been working with iOS 26 since Apple released the initial developer beta in June, and we can help you get the lay of the land. In this iOS 26 guide, I'll walk you through the biggest changes in Apple's software update, now available as a public beta ahead of its full release in the fall. This guide features highlights of the major iOS 26 changes as well as links back to our coverage for a more in-depth explanation of what's new in the update and how to make the most of it. Our guide on how to download the iOS 26 public beta offers step-by-step instructions on updating your iPhone's software. You'll need to enroll in Apple's beta software program, and then it's just a matter of going into the Software Update section of the Settings app to grab the iOS 26 beta. Just make sure you've got an iOS 26 supported device capable of running the update. That's any iPhone released from 2019 onward — basically, the iPhone 11 or later. That means the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are the only iOS 18-compatible devices that can't upgrade to iOS 26. (And no, you didn't fall asleep and miss eight iOS updates between iOS 18 and iOS 26. Apple decided to switch to a different naming convention for its software, replacing the version number with the year following the update's release.) Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Also, be aware that not every feature will work on every iOS 26-compatible phone. There are Apple Intelligence features in iOS 26 that require at least an iPhone 15 Pro or later. A new spatial photos feature only works on the iPhone 12 later. Liquid Glass is the name Apple's given to the new interface for its iPhone software, as well as for the software updates coming to the Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV this year. Apple wants a more unified software experience with streamlined menus with a look that takes its inspiration from the visionOS software that powers the Vision Pro headset. Liquid Glass is characterized by translucent menus and fluid animations as on-screen elements adjust to your actions. (Think the URL bar shrinking in Safari as you scroll down a web page.) Some icons have been changed around in iOS 26, and you've got new tinting options, including one that makes those icons completely clear. We've got a comparison between the iOS 26 and iOS 18 interfaces that can help you get used to what's changing with the look of Apple's iPhone software. And if you find the translucent look distracting, we can show you how to adjust the transparency of interface elements in Settings. As part of iOS 26's interface changes, your iPhone lock screen can take on a new look with spatial photos available as the background image for your phone and an adaptive time feature that adjusts the look of the on-screen clock to fit with the other visual elements. We go through all the iOS 26 lock screen changes. The Phone app gets a unified interface that combines your recents and missed calls into a single window. (You can switch back to the old look if you prefer.) But the biggest additions are call screening and hold assist, and they're available on any phone capable of running iOS 26. Call screening fields incoming calls from unknown numbers, having those callers identify themselves and why they're calling. That information appears on your iPhone screen, letting you decide whether to take the call. We've got a look at how the iPhone's call screening compares to what the Google Pixel offers. Hold Assist does exactly what its name implies — it will monitor the phone line when you're put on hold, freeing you up to do other things. When a live agent comes on the line, you'll get a notification. Here are more details on how call screening and Hold Assist work in iOS 26. FaceTime gets a new look, too, with a tiled interface that shows off contact posters of the people you've talked to. There are call screening features here as well. Meanwhile, phones that support Apple Intelligence get a big boost to both the Phone and FaceTime apps — live translations so that you can carry on a conversation with a person in another language. Only select languages are supported right now, and you'll need to download the appropriate language from the Translate app for the feature to work seamlessly. Of the current apps on your iPhone, Messages sees the highest volume of changes, and we detail everything that's new in iOS 26 Messages. But here are the highlights of what you'll see after updating. Group chats pick up a lot of new features, such as typing indicators and the ability to send Apple Cash to groups. Group chats are also the biggest beneficiary of a new polling feature that lets you put polls into chats so that people can vote for their favorite option. From an aesthetic standpoint, you can now use wallpapers as the background for your chat screens — each conversation can have its own background. And like Phone and FaceTime, Messages gains a way to screen out texts from unknown senders, just by adjusting one of the app's settings. Streamlined controls are a theme throughout iOS 26, but that's the most evident in the Camera app. Launch your camera, and you'll see just two controls for video and photo. Swiping left or right brings up other camera modes, such as portrait, pano, slo-mo and time lapse. An upward swipe brings additional settings to adjust things like aspect ratio, exposure and more. And in video mode, you just need to tap the Format button to bring up all your available options. My colleague John Velasco has more on the streamlined camera interface and how it simplifies the task of adjusting settings. He also looks at new iOS 26 AirPod features that turn your earbuds into camera remotes and recording tools. After a big Photos overhaul in iOS 18, Apple is at it again with iOS 26, though this time the changes are more modest. The new version of Photos restores tabs for toggling between your library and your collections, an addition that should save some scrolling while addressing complaints about last year's redesign. That's not the only change to Photos' look, though. You also have the ability to customize the layout of Collections. And if you have an iPhone 12 or later, you can turn images in your library into spatial photos that offer depth effects. (A bonus: if you've got a photo widget on your home screen to serve up favorite photos at random, they'll be automatically converted to spatial images.) See our guide to the biggest changes in iOS 26 Photos for more details. iPhones that support Apple Intelligence will benefit from expanded Visual Intelligence features in iOS 26. Specifically, the update adds the ability for the AI-powered tool to look at the contents of your iPhone screen via a screenshot. When you take a screenshot on a supported phone, you'll get on-screen options for searching with Google or ChatGPT. You'll also have contextually relevant commands like translation tools or creating calendar events. And you can highlight specific areas of the screenshot for searching, similar to Android's Circle to Search feature. I spent some hands-on time with Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 if you want to see examples of what the new capabilities allow you to do. One of Apple's goals with iOS 26 has been to work Apple Intelligence into more of the iPhone's built-in apps. That's evident in the new versions of Shortcuts and Reminders, both of which now support some of Apple's AI features. In Shortcuts, you can now create workflows that tap into Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools or Image Playground. For example, you could now make a shortcut that summarize text, pasting that summary into a document. Apple Intelligence support also extends to Apple Intelligence's on-device models and ChatGPT. We've got a look at what Shortcuts' integration with Apple Intelligence means for you. As for Reminders, the app can now look at text in emails and on websites to find and create relevant tasks. It also works with recipes in the Apple News Plus service to automatically create grocery lists. And reminders can now be automatically categorized in a list thanks to Apple Intelligence integration. The first time you launch the iOS 26 Maps app, you'll be asked if you want the app to log all the places you visit. The idea behind this Visited Places feature is that it will help you remember favorite locations for later reference without any additional action on your part. I took a look at why Visited Places figures to be a great addition in iOS 26 Maps. Another new Maps feature takes note of your preferred routes for frequent trips like commutes, school drop-offs and errands, showing you a preview of that route in a Maps widget. There are also notification alerts when there's likely to be a delay on that route so you can look for an alternative way of getting to Point B. iOS 26 adds a couple of new apps — Preview, which is an iPhone addition of the PDF viewing app on your Mac, and Games, which is entirely new. Apple treats Games like a one-stop shop for all the games installed on your iPhone, and indeed every game you've ever tried. You can launch games directly from the app or re-download them from the App Store if you've discovered something you haven't played in a while. You'll find recommendations, especially from the Apple Arcade subscription service. The true value of the Games app may not emerge until the fall when app makers starting releasing their iOS 26-inspired updates. There's a Play Together tab in which you can challenge friends to see who can post a better score in specific games, and there's clearly a push for app to add challenges that you'll be able to access from the Games app. Liquid Glass also comes to CarPlay in iOS 26, but our CarPlay hands-on found the most welcome changes to be the addition of widgets and the ability to respond to text messages with tapbacks. Both of those features let you glance at information and respond quickly without distracting you from your drive. By now, you've probably surmised that there's a lot to this iOS 26 update. Here's a quick round-up of other features and additions you should be aware of as you try out the public beta. The iOS 26 public beta released on July 24 is just the first of what figures to be many versions rolled out during the summer. Check back with this guide, which we'll update as Apple adds more features and we get the chance to put them to the test.

Apple CarPlay Ultra?不了,據報 BMW 目前沒有整合 CarPlay Ultra 的計劃
Apple CarPlay Ultra?不了,據報 BMW 目前沒有整合 CarPlay Ultra 的計劃

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Apple CarPlay Ultra?不了,據報 BMW 目前沒有整合 CarPlay Ultra 的計劃

CarPlay Ultra Apple 推行 CarPlay Ultra 又遇阻力。據外媒報導德國車廠 BMW 表示暫時未有整合 CarPlay Ultra 的計劃,成為最新一家向 CarPlay Ultra「說不」的大車廠。早前已有消息指 Audi、Mercedes-Benz 及 Volvo 等車廠對 CarPlay Ultra 支援興趣缺缺,如今 BMW 表態,令 Apple 全面推進 CarPlay Ultra 的大計的聲勢不如前。 以報導 BMW 汽車新聞的 BMW Blog 早前引述 BMW 發言人指,他們目前沒有整合 CarPlay Ultra 的計劃,BMW 會即將在今年稍後時間於 BMW iX3 車款上推出全新的 iDrive X 平台,強化自家車載系統。雖然不會整合 CarPlay Ultra,但 BMW 仍將支援標準版 CarPlay (以及 Android Auto ),僅限於主要的資訊娛樂螢幕上使用。BMW 繼其他大廠腳步表明不整合 CarPlay Ultra,顯示車廠猶豫甚至不願將汽車的使用介面主導權交到 Apple 手上,認為會過於淡化自家為車主帶來的使用體驗,降低品牌差異化。雖然 Audi、BMW 及 Mercedes-Benz等大廠退出支援 CarPlay Ultra ,但仍有 Aston Martin、Porsche、Ford、Hyundai、Kia、Honda、Land Rover及 Nissan 車廠在未來會支援 CarPlay Ultra。 更多內容: 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠,追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台! 🎉📱 Tech Facebook: 🎉📱 Tech Instagram: 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群: 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道: 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道:

This Tech Giant Is the Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock to Buy Right Now
This Tech Giant Is the Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock to Buy Right Now

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

This Tech Giant Is the Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock to Buy Right Now

Key Points TSMC delivered terrific results on July 17 and raised its full-year guidance. The company's earnings growth is expected to accelerate going forward. TSMC's valuation and healthy growth make the stock an attractive buy right now. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing › Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) has been at the center of the artificial intelligence (AI) chip boom by virtue of its status as the world's largest semiconductor foundry. The company, commonly known as TSMC, reported second quarter results on July 17, only to remind the market why it is one of the best ways to capitalize on the growth in AI semiconductor demand. All the major chip companies, such as Broadcom, Marvell, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel, have been using TSMC's fabrication plants to manufacture their AI chips. Moreover, the chips that go into AI-enabled smartphones are manufactured at TSMC's facilities since it counts the likes of Qualcomm and Apple as customers too. This world-class client base and the secular growth of the AI chip market allowed TSMC to deliver outstanding Q2 results and boost its full-year guidance as well. Take a closer look at the latest numbers, and you'll see why it's not too late for investors to buy this hot AI stock. TSMC's AI-fueled growth is here to stay TSMC reported an impressive 44% year-over-year increase in its Q2 revenue to $30.1 billion, exceeding the high end of its guidance range. Meanwhile, the company's adjusted earnings per share shot up at a much faster pace of 61%, a testament to its solid pricing power. TSMC controls 68% of the global semiconductor foundry market, well ahead of its closest rival, Samsung, which has a market share of just under 8%. The company has managed to build such a huge gap over the competition thanks to the technological lead of its process nodes. As a result, TSMC has the ability to raise the prices of its services, and that explains why its gross margin increased by more than five percentage points last quarter from the prior-year period. Importantly, TSMC is now anticipating its full-year revenue will grow 30% in 2025, up from its earlier estimate of mid-20% growth. But TSMC could end the year with an even bigger top-line jump as it has already achieved 40% year-over-year growth in the first half of 2025, and it is expecting a 38% spike in revenue in the current quarter (at the midpoint of guidance). What's worth noting here is that TSMC says its guidance takes into account the potential impact of tariffs on its business. Even then, the company has raised its full-year outlook, and it won't be surprising to see it end 2025 with a bigger-than-expected jump in revenue and earnings. In fact, TSMC's red-hot growth seems sustainable for a long time to come, considering the secular growth opportunity presented by AI. The various AI-focused end-markets that TSMC serves are on track to boom remarkably in the next five years. For instance, the investment in AI chips and computing hardware could exceed a whopping $3 trillion by 2030, according to the consulting firm McKinsey. Not surprisingly, analysts are also increasing their estimates for the company's earnings through 2027. The stock is built for more upside TSMC stock has jumped an impressive 59% in the past three months. Even then, it is trading at 28 times trailing earnings as compared to the tech-laden Nasdaq 100 index's average earnings multiple of more than 32. The forward earnings multiple of 24 is even more attractive and is yet another signal of the company's continued bottom-line growth. Investors looking to add an AI stock to their portfolios should consider buying TSMC as a top pick. It has room to run higher and is trading at a discount to the broader technology sector, despite quarter after quarter of outstanding execution. Should you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now? Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Marvell Technology and recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This Tech Giant Is the Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock to Buy Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store