More powerful versions of the M2 chip could benefit from an improved burning process.
While the entire line of M1 chips (Basic, Pro, Max, and Ultra versions) are etched with TSMC’s 5nm technology, the M2 chips and M2 Pro/Max and Ultra might show a bigger difference. Indeed, if the M2 chip of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air 2022 is indeed engraved in 5 nm (with an improved second generation 5nm + process compared to the M1), TSMC would have received orders from Cupertino to burn the M2 Pro and M2 Max in 3 nmaccording to the sources of DigiTimes who add that the mass production of these chips would be planned for the second half of 2022 (from now on).
If DigiTimes information is found to be correct, the M2 Pro/Max and Ultra chips could show a greater performance gap than was offered between the M1 and M1 Pro/Max and Ultra, in addition to the improved architecture, higher frequencies (the M2 chip peaks at 3.49 GHz against 3.20 GHz for the M1) and any additional cores. As a reminder, the use of finer etching makes it possible to fit more transistors on the same surface and to obtain higher performance at equivalent consumption, or lower consumption at equivalent performance (and often a mix of the two).
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