Reasons Behind Potential Price Surge of iPhone 15

Apple may have to increase the selling price of the iPhone 15 due to impacts from a third-party company, TSMC.

Semiconductor manufacturers have begun to engage in the 3nm process race, with Samsung and TSMC being the first companies to produce chips using this technology. According to reports, TSMC is likely to be the supplier of 3nm chips for Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 lineup. Importantly, TSMC has priced 3nm wafers twice as high as 7nm, potentially leading to a significant price increase for the iPhone 15 series.

Currently, the A17 Bionic chip developed by Apple for the iPhone 15 series will be handled by TSMC, the world's leading chip foundry, utilizing the most advanced process. Specifically, the lower the process node, the smaller the semiconductor die size used inside the chip, allowing for more semiconductors inside the chip, thereby making the chip more powerful and energy-efficient. This process facilitates the production of advanced processors every year.

For example, the iPhone 11 featured the A13 Bionic 7nm chip, released in 2019, with 8.5 billion transistors per chip, and now, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Max are already utilizing the A16 Bionic chip. However, the challenge lies in how to sustain and upgrade this process annually?

Both TSMC and Samsung have plans to manufacture 2nm chips by 2025, with the possibility of even completing 1nm chips by 2030. While these upgrades bring about development and numerous benefits, they also come with cost issues. According to the latest reports, TSMC could charge up to $20,000 for 3nm wafers. Previously, when transitioning from 7nm to 5nm technology, the price of a semiconductor wafer soared by 66%, from $10,000 per wafer to $16,000 per wafer.

At first glance, these costs may not be noticeable to users, but product price hikes are inevitable. Therefore, it can be said that the iPhone 15 and other flagship models will have higher prices than expected, especially with unlimited price hikes for wafers.