For months, reports have been saying that next year’s iPhone 17 will feature a new 2-nanometer processor to run Apple’s latest smartphones. However, a new leak on Weibo by a “mobile phone chip expert” (spotted by MacRumors) claims that the A20 in the iPhone 18 lineup will be the first-ever 2nm chipset.
MPCE says that the 2026 iPhone (translated from Chinese by Google) will “adopt a new packaging method… from the original InFo to WMCM packaging. Memory will also be upgraded to 12GB, and the entire network will be is expected to be announced within two years.” Forward. “
InFo and WMCM refer to integrated fan-out packaging and water level multichip module packaging. The difference between the two is that InFo allows you to integrate components within packages. The focus here is on single-die packaging, where the memory is connected to the main system-on-chip.
WMCM, on the other hand, integrates multiple components into the same package. This means you can build more complex systems where the CPU, GPU, DRAM, and other parts are on the same package and can be stacked vertically or horizontally. We should be able to come up with more flexible arrangements.
When it comes to the 2nm and 3nm nomenclature, it refers to the architecture of the chip. As the number gets smaller, it means the chip can have smaller transistors. The smaller the transistor, the more you can squeeze onto the chip. Generally, this increases processing power, speed, and efficiency.
Apple has been obsessed with making increasingly thinner devices. The production of WMCM hints at how the company might approach the rumored iPhone 17 Air, or perhaps the iPhone 18 Air.
It has been suggested that the iPhone 17 will feature a 2nm chip, but supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently began reporting that next year’s iPhones will have an “enhanced” 3nm processor. . He also said that only the 2026 iPhone 18 Pro models will feature the next-generation 2nm chip, mainly due to cost concerns.
It is unclear from MPCE’s post whether the 2nm system-on-chip will be available in all iPhone 18 models, as Kuo predicted, or only in Pro models.
According to reports, Apple’s chip partner TSMC plans to start manufacturing 2nm processors in 2025, with Apple expected to be the first company to utilize that architecture in smartphones.
MPCE is reportedly a fairly reliable leaker that predicted the correct chips for the iPhone 15 series and that Apple would develop AI server processors with TSMC.
