Apple is expected to commence mass production of the M5 chip by the end of 2025, with TSMC having secured the production contract.

Reportedly, the Apple M5 chip will leverage TSMC's advanced 3nm process. Apple has opted not to advance to the 2nm process primarily due to cost considerations.

According to reports, the M5 will pioneer the use of TSMC's latest SoIC (System-on-Chip Integration) packaging process.

As a part of TSMC's cutting-edge 3D Fabric advanced packaging technology portfolio, TSMC's SoIC represents the industry's inaugural high-density 3D chiplet stacking technology. The SoIC design facilitates the creation of bonding interfaces that permit chips to be stacked directly on one another.

Notably, TSMC commenced small-scale trial production of the SoIC process in July of this year, aiming for a monthly production capacity of 1,900 chips by the year's end. This capacity is expected to surpass 3,000 chips next year, reflecting a substantial increase of nearly 60%. By 2027, the monthly production capacity is projected to be approximately 3.7 times higher than the level at the end of this year, equating to a compound annual growth rate of nearly 40%.

The first array of Apple devices integrated with M5 chips is undergoing intensive preparation, including models such as the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and the upcoming Vision Pro.

Furthermore, Apple intends to deploy the M5 chips within its AI servers, thereby significantly boosting the capabilities of its AI cloud services.