So far, industry sources with varying degrees of certainty have mostly spoken of Apple being on TSMC’s customer list 3nm process technology. This week, MediaTek decided to “step out of the shadows,” admitting that 3nm Dimensity family chips will be built into finished electronic devices starting in the second half of next year.
Image source: Mediatek
According to the publication, TSMC and MediaTek issued a joint statement this week. Nikkei Asian Review. The first generation of 3nm MediaTek chips will be used not only in smartphones of various brands, but also in tablets, in-car systems and other devices. MediaTek’s main customers in the smartphone segment are Samsung Electronics and the Chinese brands Xiaomi, Vivo and OPPO. Most likely, 3nm MediaTek chips of the new generation will be installed in the new devices of these brands.
This announcement comes very timely given the huge public interest in the precedent with the appearance of the flagship smartphone Huawei Mate 60 Pro, based on the mysterious HiSilicon Kirin 9000S processor of unknown origin. Some sources attribute Chinese company SMIC’s ability to make 7nm chips to circumventing US sanctions, and US officials are already calling for a complete blocking of technology exports from the US for Huawei and SMIC needs. A reminder of the technological superiority of Taiwan’s MediaTek and TSMC in such a situation seems very appropriate from an ideological point of view.
Previously it was believed that Qualcomm, AMD, Intel and NVIDIA would also be among the first TSMC customers to release a 3nm chip, but so far only Apple and MediaTek have officially stepped out of the shadows. With the transition to the second generation 3nm process technology, the number of TSMC customers is expected to increase in this direction.
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