Intel, AMD, Apple, Nvidia, and MediaTek tipped to use TSMC's cutting-edge 2 nm node; Qualcomm notably absent

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite, MediaTek Dimensity 9400 and Apple A18 Pro out and about, there are plenty of 3 nm chips on the smartphone market. Once the node matures, more will follow and find their way into CPUs, GPUs and other components. TSMC's 2 nm node (N2), on the other hand, will find itself in a wider array of devices, as evidenced by Trendforce data shared with us by tipster @Jukanlosreve. N2 is the first TSMC node to feature a gate-all-around design, which TSMC calls Nanosheets.

Apple

Unsurprisingly, Apple will be one of the first companies to adopt TSMC's N2 node. It will tape out in December 2024 and be used for the Apple A20 Pro and Apple M5. The former will enter mass production in late 2025, while the latter will have to wait until Q2, 2026. This sits in line with an earlier report which said Apple M5-powered iPads are scheduled to launch in late 2025. Additionally, it also debunks another one talking about Apple using an Intel node for the A20 Pro, which will power 2026's iPhone 18 series.

AMD

Historically, AMD has always been one node behind the bleeding edge. That might change with TSMC N2. Apparently, it will be used to manufacture AMD's Zen 6 line of desktop CPUs and CDNA 5 M1400 AI accelerators. Zen 5 just dropped a few months ago, so Zen 6 is unlikely to see the light of day until 2026. An earlier rumour suggested Zen 6 would use a mix of 3 nm and 2 nm tiles, similar to what Intel did with Meteor Lake. If accurate, AMD can bring costs down by fabricating just the CCDs on N2 and the remaining parts on more mature nodes.

Intel

After successfully leveraging TSMC N3B for Lunar Lake's CPU tile, Intel intends to continue its collaboration with TSMC for its cutting-edge nodes. This will extend to its 2026-bound Nova Lake line of desktop chips. That said, there's a possibility Intel could pivot to its in-house 14A node for Nova Lake. It is a bit early to make predictions, given the chip is yet to tape out. That is scheduled to happen in mid-2025 and determine the fate of Intel's next desktop platform.

Nvidia

Nvidia's TSMC N2 orders are centered around 'Rubin next', the successor to Nvidia's Rubin platform announced at Computex 2024. However, these chips aren't scheduled to tape out until 2026 and enter mass production until 2027. It aligns perfectly with Nvidia's own roadmap, which says Rubin-based products will be launched well into 2026, paving way for a 2027 launch for its successors. Of course, these refer to Nvidia's data center products and there's a good chance Nvidia's Blackwell successor (RTX 6000) series sticks to a N3 derivative.

Other notable names on the list include Broadcom and Bitmain. Both will use TSMC N2-fabbed chips for ASICS. MediaTek is on the list, too, with its 2 nm chip taping out in mid-2025 and entering mass production the next year. This will likely be the Dimensity 9600 (tentative). Surprisingly, its main competitor (Qualcomm) is nowhere to be found on that list. This casts doubt about the future of Snapdragon X Elite and 8 Elite successors, giving further credence to rumours about the American chipmaker pivoting to Samsung Foundry once again.