Mashable: Nanometers are used to measure the distance between transistors on a chip.

This week, Apple showed off its new M2 chip, which is the first update to the Apple Silicon processors made for the Mac and iPad. Analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong Intl Tech Research says that Apple supplier TSMC will start making a lot of the new, more powerful "M2 Pro" processor later this year.

Jeff Pu of 9to5Mac has done research that shows Apple will keep getting its silicon chips from TSMC. According to rumors, a Taiwanese semiconductor company will work with Apple to make a new "M2 Pro" processor using 3-nanometer technology later this year.

For those who don't know, nanometers are used to measure the distance between transistors on a chip. The shorter the distance must be, the better the performance, less heat generated and more efficient it must be. Even though there have been a lot of changes, the new Apple Silicon M2 chip is still made with 5-nanometer technology. For reference the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is built on 4nm technology.

Apple says that the M2's CPU is 18% faster than that of the M1 and that its graphics are 35% better thanks to a new 10-core GPU. Because of this, the M2 has up to 24GB of RAM while the M1 only has between 8GB and 16GB.

9to5Mac said earlier this year that Apple was using the M2 Pro chip to make a new Mac mini and was also working on making even more powerful processors for the highly anticipated Apple Silicon Mac Pro. If Pu's claim is true, the 3-nanometer technology will be used to make all high-end M2 chips.

Pu also talks about a 3-nanometer iPad when he talks about the new Mac Pro, which is called "Apple's in-house server."