A new report claims that next year's iPhone 17 lineup will feature enhanced 3nm processors, while the 2026 iPhone 18 series, especially the Pro model, will feature next-generation 2nm processors

The latest iPhone 17 and 18 rumors come from supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, found by MacRumors

Of course, 3nm chips are the current standard for most high-end smartphones, and the recently announced iPhone 16 lineup includes second-generation 3nm chips in the A18 and A18 Pro So while the iPhone 17 news is not surprising, there is certainly a wrinkle in the iPhone 18

2nm and 3nm refer to chip technology, and each type has its own architecture As these numbers in front of the measurements get smaller (4nm, 3nm, etc), the chip features smaller transistors The smaller the transistors, the more can be packed onto the chip In general, this increases processing speed, power, and efficiency

Apple introduced 3nm chips in various devices last year with the A17 Pro processor in the iPhone 15 Pro model; the Mac's M3 chip is also built on the 3nm architecture

According to Kuo, Taiwanese manufacturer TSMC is working on a 2nm process, but due to high costs, only the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max devices will feature this chip

An earlier report from a Korean site claimed that TSMC was already working on a 2nm process and that the A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 might use the 2nm architecture One Taiwanese paper suggests a similar date in January 2024 These are just a handful of reports claiming that 2nm chips will appear next year

TSMC is Apple's partner in manufacturing the chips instead of relying on companies like Qualcomm, which will announce its next-generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chips (also manufactured by TSMC) in October

Kuo has a track record of being reasonably correct in his predictions about Apple and its production moves; it will be interesting to see if his prediction of 2026 holds up, or if 2025 will be the year for 2nm chips

Meanwhile, TSCMC is expected to further improve the performance of its 3nm chips before the 2nm release