[News] Apple May Debut M5 Ultra-Powered Mac Studio at WWDC, Boosting Demand for TSMC N3P and SoIC-mH

Source Domain: www.trendforce.com

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is set to kick off on June 9. According to Commercial Times, beyond updates to Apple Intelligence, Siri, and macOS 27, market attention is focused on whether a next-generation Mac Studio powered by Apple’s M5 Ultra chip will also make an appearance.

The M5 Ultra is expected to retain Apple’s UltraFusion dual-die architecture, combining two M5 Max dies and delivering interconnect bandwidth of more than 1,000GB/s. Specifications are rumored to include a 36-core CPU, an 84-core GPU, and up to 512GB of unified memory, the report adds.

Notably, as the report highlights, TSMC’s N3P is expected to serve as the key manufacturing foundation for the M5 Ultra, potentially adding to demand for already tight 3nm capacity.

TSMC’s SoIC-mH Emerges as Potential M5 Ultra Enabler

TSMC’s advanced packaging is also expected to play a key role in boosting the performance of the M5 Ultra. According to institutional investors cited by Commercial Times, SoIC-mH could emerge as a core technology platform if Apple adopts a higher-density heterogeneous integration approach alongside its UltraFusion high-speed interconnect architecture.

As TechNews notes, SoIC-mH uses a molded horizontal packaging architecture and integrates multiple chips directly at the wafer level through no-bump hybrid bonding technology. The approach can increase packaging density, improve signal transmission efficiency, and enhance thermal performance.

In addition, TechPowerUp notes that TSMC’s SoIC-mH allows Apple to separate the CPU and NPU from the GPU. This enables Apple to scale CPU clusters and GPU dies independently, adding more cores as needed. The approach also gives Apple greater flexibility to expand its product lineup without pushing die sizes close to the 830 mm² reticle limit….

Source