A price hike is expected to be in place for TSMC’s 2nm N2 wafers, with a previous report stating that customers like Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and others could pay a 50 percent premium to obtain these wafers. However, new information states that the price difference will only be 10-20 percent, but that is only because TSMC may make its current 3nm technologies more expensive for clients.
The report adds that TSMC’s 2nm wafers will only be between 10-20 percent pricier than 3nm because the manufacturer is introducing a price hike for the latter; new technology is still priced at $30,000 a unit
The $30,000 price tag will remain unchanged on 2nm N2 wafers, as TSMC was earlier said to start mass production in the final quarter of 2025, with Qualcomm wasting no time by moving to the Taiwanese firm’s N2P node for next year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Industry experts have said that each wafer on this lithography will cost the aforementioned amount per unit, increasing the price of consumer electronics such as smartphones and tablets to offset the skyrocketing wafer costs.
Naturally, customers have to comply, but the difference between 2nm and 3nm might not be that pronounced, that is, until we look at the bigger picture. According to Investor, there will only be a 10-20 percent price difference between 2nm and 3nm wafers because TSMC is said to introduce a price hike for its current-generation lithography. The ‘N3E’ and ‘N3P’ nodes are estimated to cost $25,000 and $27,000, respectively, making it more financially taxing for companies that want to leverage TSMC’s older manufacturing processes for a variety of chips.
Earlier, we reported that Qualcomm and MediaTek had to pay up to a 24 percent higher sum for their Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Dimensity 9500, respectively, because of switching to TSMC’s 3nm ‘N3P’ architecture, implying that both companies might have already been subject to the increased price hikes before this report was released. Fortunately, with this cost bump, transitioning from 3nm to 2nm might not appear as ridiculously expensive for TSMC’s customers as previously imagined, but that does not make the $30,000 figure an easier pill to swallow.
News Source: Investor
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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