Apple may get 53% of all 5nm chipsets made by TSMC in 2021 followed by Qualcomm

It's worth mentioning that Apple launched its A14 Bionic chipset for iPhones and iPads last year, which was made using a 5nm process.

Apple iPhone. (Unsplash)

It looks like Apple will be eating a large pie of TSMC's 5nm chip production in 2021. According to a report by CounterPoint, it has been expected that Apple will be TSMC's top 5nm customer this year and will be accounting 53% of the production. This will be due to the A14 and A15 Bionic chips and the Apple M1 for Mac devices.

It's worth mentioning that Apple launched its A14 Bionic chipset for iPhones and iPads last year, which was made using a 5nm process. Soon after, it brought the 5nm-based M1 processor for Mac Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. However, the company is now said to bring 5nm-based A15 Bionic this year, while maintaining the supply for A14 and M1, which will indeed result in acquiring a large share of TSMC's 5nm chips.

While Apple will be dominating TSMC's 5nm stock, the second line may be for Qualcomm, which will be accounting for 24% of TSMC's 5nm chip manufacturing. It's worth mentioning that Apple is also expected to use Qualcomm's 5nm Snapdragon 5G X60 modem for its rumoured iPhone 13, which is said to launch later this year.

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In total, both TSMC and Samsung are predicted to have 90% of their 5nm equipment booked for 2021. As per the report, 80% of the 5nm chips could be used in smartphones.

It has been estimated that the 2021 foundry industries revenue was up by 23% last year to $82 billion. However, the research firm now states that it might grow by 12% more this year, bringing revenue to $92 billion. It has also mentioned that TSMC should grow 13% to 16% this year,which will be in line with the industry's overall growth rate.

On the other hand, TSMC's potential rival, Samsung foundry, which also makes 5nm chipsets, is expected to post a 20% gain in 2021 revenue. It's worth mentioning that Samsung Foundry has made its 5nm chipset in the form of Exynos 2100 for Galaxy S21 series and is also supplying the same design to Qualcomm for its latest Snapdragon 888 processor.