TSMC’s 2nm chips will be significantly more expensive than previous generations

While Samsung already announced the world’s first 2nm chip with its Exynos 2600, which will make its debut on the Galaxy S26 series, key competitors like Apple, Qualcomm and MediaTek are also expected to bring their own 2nm chips in the coming months.

The Apple A20 chip, set to power the iPhone 18 series, alongside the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Dimensity 9600, which will be at the helm of this year’s Android flagships are all expected to be fabbed on TSMC’s N2 process node, which has now entered mass production capacity.

A new report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News suggests that these 2nm chips will usher in a drastic rise in manufacturing costs, which will ultimately make upcoming flagship smartphones notably more expensive.

The new report claims the Apple A20 chip inside the iPhone 18 series is rumored to cost as much as $280 per unit, which would be an 80% increase compared to the current A19 chip in the iPhone 17 series. While the report does not mention specific prices for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and MediaTek Dimensity 9600, both are expected to follow price hikes compared to their predecessors.

There are several factors that are influencing the rising chipset prices. The ongoing memory chip crisis has resulted in higher RAM prices, and we’ve also seen similar price hikes extend to other key components, including processors.

In addition, TSMC is reportedly facing low first-generation nanosheet yields for its new packaging process, which incorporates Gate-all-around (GAA) transistors. While the new process brings improved transistor density and better power efficiency, it also makes large-scale manufacturing more difficult. This is one of the key reasons why 2nm chips like the A20 will be a lot more expensive than their predecessors, and prices for upcoming flagship phones will also go up significantly.

Source (in Chinese)