On Tuesday, Ming-Chi Kuo released a report stating that Eternal Materials has secured a packaging order from TSMC for next year’s iPhones and high-end M5 MacBooks. The key highlight is why Eternal won the contract, tied to a processor packaging change for the upcoming A20 chip.
In 2H26, the iPhone 18’s A20 processor packaging will shift from InFO to WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module). WMCM uses MUF (Molding Underfill), which integrates underfill and molding processes, reducing material consumption and process steps to improve yield and efficiency. – Ming-Chi Kuo, August 12, 2025
Ryan Christoffel for 9to5Mac:
What does any of that mean? Great question.
Fortunately, my colleague Marcus already explained it well earlier this summer when another analyst shared similar expectations:
WMCM allows different components, like the SoC and DRAM, to be integrated directly at the wafer level, before being diced into individual chips.
It uses a technique that connects the dies without needing an interposer or substrate, which can bring both thermal and signal integrity benefits.
In other words, Apple’s next-gen chip won’t just be smaller and more power-efficient thanks to N2. It’ll also be physically closer to its onboard memory, enabling better performance and potentially lower power consumption for tasks like AI processing and high-end gaming.
MacDailyNews Take: Very good news for on-device AI and other taxing processes and also for even better battery life!
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