It is reported that M8 will adopt TSMC's 1.4nm process, which will be the industry's first 1.4nm chip. According to TSMC's plan, the 1.4nm process will begin mass production in 2028, and Apple will be the first customer to adopt this advanced process.

Looking back, Apple has repeatedly launched TSMC's advanced manufacturing processes. For example, the A17 Pro launched TSMC's 3nm process, leading competitors Qualcomm and MediaTek by one year. As expected, the 1.4nm process will still be adopted by Apple first.

According to the data, TSMC's 1.4nm process adopts the second-generation GAAFET (fully surround gate) nanosheet transistor technology and introduces the NanoFlex Pro standard cell architecture, allowing designers to flexibly adjust transistor configurations for specific applications during the chip design phase to optimize performance, power consumption, and area.

In terms of performance, compared to N2 technology, 1.4nm can improve performance by 10% to 15% under the same power consumption, and reduce power consumption by 25% to 30% under the same performance; The logic transistor density has increased by about 23%, and the chip density has increased by about 20%.

In terms of mass production planning, 1.4nm is expected to be put into operation in 2028, and TSMC is already building a dedicated wafer fab, Fab 25. In 2029, an enhanced version of the 1.4nm process, also known as A14P, will be launched with the addition of a back power supply network to further enhance performance.

When it comes to 1.4nm SoC, the Apple M8 will not be the only beneficiary of this technology. According to reports, the A22 Pro for the 2028 iPhone will also benefit from this advanced technology. Due to the fact that Apple's 1.4nm SoC is still a few years away from release, there may be many variables during this period.