For many years, microprocessor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has told investors that transitioning to newer chip manufacturing technologies provides significant product and economic benefits.
Chips are made up of transistors, and newer manufacturing technologies are usually expected to make these transistors smaller, and thus cheaper to manufacture. Equally important, chip companies can cram more of those smaller, cheaper transistors into a single chip without increasing total chip costs. This means faster, more feature-packed chips for the same prices as before.