TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Apple’s iPhone 14, due in 2022, will likely be an early adopter of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's (TSMC) revolutionary 3D Fabric packaging platform.
Firms including AMD, MediaTek, Xilinx, NXP, and Qualcomm are also rumored to be preparing to use the new technology, according to a new Patently Apple report. The news comes shortly after the release of the iPhone 13 last week.
Although it will be some time before it is released, the iPhone 14 started trending on Twitter earlier this month, with many consumers excited by its reportedly notchless design.
As for TSMC's new packaging method that will undergird the phones, analysts compare it to building Lego blocks, since it stacks chiplets on top of one another. Chip-on-Wafer (CoW) and Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW) are just two of the potential combinations, according to reports.
TSMC will launch the 3D Fabric packaging platform to coincide with the firm’s new 3nm processors, per reports.
In related news, TSMC has outlined a plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 after reports emerged that Apple would probably miss its emissions targets due to TSMC’s energy-intensive semiconductor manufacturing processes.
"TSMC is deeply aware that climate change has a severe impact on the environment and humanity. As a world-leading semiconductor company, TSMC must shoulder its corporate responsibility to face the challenge of climate change," said company Chairman Mark Liu (劉德音).