Taiwanese sons of the soil block Apple’s chipmaker from building a 1nm chip factory

If you don’t get your iPhone with a 1nm chip soon enough, you could blame Taiwanese soil wires. Local residents in the rural area of ​​Longtan protested loudly enough to thwart TSMC’s plans to build a new 1nm chip factory.

TSMC, short for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is Apple’s main chipmaker (they produced the 3nm A17 Pro for the iPhone 15 Pro duo), so anything that affects TSMC affects the Cupertino giant.

Located in the northern part of the island, Longtan was initially chosen by TSMC for its next factory, but this required the premises to relocate in order for the future industrial park to be built (via 9to5Mac). They objected and TSMC agreed to look elsewhere.

TSMC could get help from the government to find a new home for the cutting-edge tech factory – they need a specific amount of land, water and electricity (lots and lots), so we can’t not build it wherever he wants. has. Given that semiconductors are probably Taiwan’s largest industry, it is not surprising that it could benefit from government assistance.

Some are already inviting TSMC to their homes, like Chen Chi-Mai, mayor of Kaohsiung in the south. According to Reuters, Chen Chi-Mai said his city has enough water, electricity and land to accommodate more semiconductor factories: “Opportunities are only for those who are prepared,” he said. he told journalists. Currently, TSMC is building a 2-nanometer chip factory in Kaohsiung.

A18 Pro chip for all iPhone 16 models?

The other day, an interesting rumor surfaced about the topic we’re discussing here: chips and iPhones. Analyst claims that next year Apple will put the same A18 Pro chip in all four new iPhone 16 models. If this turns out to be true, it would completely undo Apple’s decision to put different chips in Pro phones and non-Pro, reserving cutting-edge technology for the latter pair. It started last year with the iPhone 14 series.