Analyst Ben Bajarin is estimating that TSMC’s 3nm wafers are running Apple about $18,000 a pop. Apple uses the 3nm process for its A17 and A18 smartphone chips. That’s a hefty price tag, considering ...

TSMC increases wafer pricing with each new node although transistor density increases slowdown, says analysis.

It then instructs the tester to test one or more dies and collects the binning results, before stepping onto the next die. This is repeated for the whole wafer, and each wafer in the cassette.

With each new node, TSMC charged Apple more per wafer, so the price increased from ... and Bajarin says their die sizes have remained relatively consistent, ranging between 80 and 125 square ...

Rumor has it that Apple is the only client paying TSMC per "good die" rather than per full wafer, giving it a competitive edge over its rivals.