Apple's A20 Chip: A Leap in Mobile Processor Technology for 2026 iPhones

Apple's A20 chip to introduce this packaging breakthrough - 9to5Mac

Apple is planning to overhaul its chip design for the 2026 iPhones, in a move that could mark the first time it uses advanced multi-chip packaging in a mobile device. It sounds complicated, but here's what this means. According to analyst Jeff Pu in a new report for GF Securities, the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, and the long-rumored iPhone 18 Fold are expected to debut Apple's A20 chip, built on TSMC's second-gen 2nm process (N2). But that's only part of the story. The more interesting bit is how those chips will be assembled. For the first time, Apple is set to adopt Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM) packaging for its iPhone processors. WMCM allows different components, like the SoC and DRAM, to be integrated directly at the wafer level, before being diced into individual chips. It uses a technique that connects the dies without needing an interposer or substrate, which can bring both thermal and signal integrity benefits. In other words, Apple's next-gen chip won't just be smaller and more power-efficient thanks to N2. It'll also be physically closer to its onboard memory, enabling better performance and potentially lower power consumption for tasks like AI processing and high-end gaming. Behind the scenes, Pu reports TSMC is building a dedicated production line and expects to quickly ramp up by 2027: "TSMC will establish a dedicated WMCM production line at its AP7, leveraging equipment and process similar to CoWoS-L without on-substrate. We see TSMC is preparing capacity of up to 50KPM by end of 2026 and estimate the capacity to reach 110-120KPM by end-2027, due to the increase in adoption." For Apple, this is a big leap in chip design, similar to when it adopted 3nm ahead of most of the industry. And for the broader mobile market, it suggests that technologies once reserved for data center GPUs and AI accelerators are making their way into smartphones. And if you're wondering what this means for the iPhone 18 Fold: it seems Apple isn't just reserving its most novel hardware for its form factor. It may also be the company's testbed for next-gen silicon packaging.

Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Models Could Debut With a 2nm A20 Chip in 2026

The 2nm process will also bring various components closer together Apple's chipsets powering the iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro models have been using TSMC's 3nm manufacturing process, and that could change in 2026. Apple started using the 3nm manufacturing process after its switch to the 'Pro' branding for its chipsets, for the iPhone 15 Pro and newer models. The switch from the 4nm Apple A16 Bionic processor to the more efficient 4nm A17 Pro chipset brought several benefits to iPhone users, including better battery life and improved performance. An analyst has predicted that Apple will make the switch to a more power-efficient chipset that is also expected to bring other performance benefits. A 9to5Mac report citing GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu claims that Apple will switch to using TSMC's 2nd-gen 2nm manufacturing process (N2) for its next generation A20 chip. The processor is expected to debut in 2026 with the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone 18 Fold, Apple's first foldable device. With the new fabrication process, the 2nm Apple A20 processor will be smaller than its predecessor. While it could offer better power efficiency, the analyst reportedly claims that Apple will adopt a new Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module (WMCM), which will reportedly bring the various components (SoC, DRAM) closer together at the wafer level itself. Such a design, which reduces the need for a substrate, also provides better thermal efficiency. Overall, this design will also result in lower power consumption, which works better given the new performance requirements to run Apple Intelligence on iOS. The analyst also predicts that TSMC's 2nd-gen 2nm (N2) production line will be up and running by 2026, and that the chipmaker will ramp up its capacity for producing more of these chips in 2027. Apple's current iPhone 16 Pro model utilises its A18 Pro SoC, which is also manufactured by TSMC using their 3nm N3E process. It has a hexa-core architecture with the two big cores clocked at 4.05GHz and has a 6-core GPU along with a 16-core Neural Engine, which is said to run AI tasks at 35 TOPS.