Apple placed orders for the A and M series processors a couple of weeks ago using the 3nm process technology. TSMC was going to transfer to 3nm processors, which are intended for the most expensive and productive Apple computers. After the launch of production, TSMC planned to produce up to 600 thousand 3nm wafers per year. If plans have to be postponed, then Apple will postpone the launch of new devices - tablets and laptops.

According to new information, the problem arose at the stage of refining the technology of multi-gate field-effect transistors (fin field-effect transistor, FinFET) to the new technology with ring gates (Gate-All-Around, FinFET GAA). It is key in the transition from 5nm to 3nm process technology. This technology has become a bottleneck for the entire process of manufacturing new chips.

Presently 3nm process is so bad that TSMC can't get even 7% of non defective chips for test wafers. For reference, 5nm process Apple is used is able to reach 85-90% of good chips, with complex chips still remaining at around 70-75%. Intel 14nm is able to reach up to 97% for complex chips.