Apple's next-gen M5 processor rumored for announcement this week, fabbed on TSMC N3E process

Apple is expected to announce its next-gen M5 processor this week along with other product announcements, with news that the new M5 chip will be fabbed on TSMC's 3nm "N3E" process node.

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In a new report from the Commercial Times, we have new details on Apple's next-gen silicon, where we can expect the next-next-gen M6 processors to be unveiled in 2026 and they could be Apple's first foray into the bleeding-edge 2nm process node for its next-next-gen MacBook laptops.

Apple's upcoming M5 processor will compete with other laptop processors including Qualcomm's newly-released Snapdragon processors and MediaTek's new chips. However, its competitors' chips are fabbed on the higher-end N3P process node, compared to the M5 reportedly fabbed on N3E.

• Read more: Apple's new M5 Pro, M5 Max: rumored with separate CPU, GPU blocks for unique SoC configurations

Why? This could be because of pricing, as TSMC is reportedly introducing price increases to its 3nm "N3E" and 3nm "N3P" wafers, with reports that they cost between $25,000 and $27,000 per wafer. Apple's new base M5 processor won't be nearly as impressive as its M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, which won't be launching until the beginning of 2026, either.

Apple could be choosing to stick with the cheaper N3E process node from TSMC for its base M5 processor because of costs, and then use TSMC's newer N3P process for its higher-end M5 Pro and M5 Max processors in 2026.

• Read more: Apple's new M5 chip enters mass production: for iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Vision Pro successor

The folks over at Wccftech report that the report from the Commercial Times could've been a simple typo, but for cost-effectiveness, it also makes sense for Apple to fab its new M5 chip on N3E, and its higher-end M5 Pro and M5 Max chips on N3P... but we won't have much longer to wait to see what process node from TSMC that Apple uses for its new M5 chip.