Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams has said that the company no longer needs to trade-off performance against battery-life in its A-series chips.
Williams is reported to have made the statement at a forum hosted as part of the 30th anniversary of Apple chipmaker TSMC …
Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams attended the 30th anniversary celebrations of A-series chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and took the opportunity to say a few words about the importance of AI in general – and the phone as an AI tool in particular.
I think we’re at an inflection point, with on-device computing, coupled with the potential of AI, to really change the world.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) says that it expects its revenues to grow by 10% during October to December, as the iPhone X goes on sale. It follows 28% growth in August in the run-up to the iPhone 8 launch.
TSMC is believed to be the sole supplier of the A11 chip used in this year’s iPhones, just as it was for the iPhone 7, and the company appears confident of fending off future competition from Samsung …
TSMC has announced that its August revenues have increased 28% sequentially thanks to ‘robust’ shipments of 10nm chips – which include the A11 chip used in this year’s iPhones …
With Samsung yesterday reported to be gearing up to win back some of Apple’s A-series chip production from next year, TSMC is today said to be boosting its own plans to make processors for the 2018 iPhone.
TSMC last year became Apple’s sole supplier of its A-series, in large part due to its lead in ever-smaller chips. The iPhone 8 is expected to use a 10nm process, meanwhile the Taiwanese chipmaker is offering a 7nm process for next year’s iPhone …
A report out of Korea says that Samsung – dropped by Apple as a supplier for iPhone processor chips last year – will once more share production with TSMC from next year.
Apple used to split its A-series chip production between Samsung and TSMC, until switching exclusively to the Taiwanese company for the iPhone 7. TSMC kept its exclusive contract for the upcoming iPhone 8, but Samsung has reportedly succeeded in winning orders for the 2018 iPhone thanks to two factors …
TSMC, Apple’s sole A-series chip supplier for the iPhone 6 and 7 (and rumored exclusive supplier for the iPhone 8 also), is considering building a foundry in the USA, reports Reuters. While the company had previously said that it hadn’t ruled out the idea, it now says that it will make a definite decision one way or the other in 2018 …
Samsung’s chip business has been increasingly left out in the cold by Apple as the company has favored Taiwanese rival TSMC for the A-series processors used it its iPhones and iPads. TSMC won all of Apple’s business for the A-series chips used in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7, and is reported to be the exclusive supplier for the 10nm A11 chip destined for the iPhone 8.
But it seems Samsung hasn’t yet given up hope of winning future business from Apple. Korea’s ET News reports that the company is accelerating plans for 7nm chips in the hopes that these might be used for next year’s iPhones …
Digitimes cites Chinese publication Liberty Times in reporting that Apple manufacturing partners Foxconn and TSMC are planning to bid for shares of Toshiba’s flash storage business. The move could bolster Toshiba against Samsung which leads in the memory space.
A supply-chain report from the variously-reliable Digitimes claims that low yield rates from the 10nm process expected to be used for the A10X chip in next year’s iPads could delay production of the tablets.
TSMC has reportedly obtained 10nm chip orders from Apple, HiSilicon and MediaTek, with volume production set to kick off in the first quarter of 2017. Nevertheless, yield rates for TSMC’s 10nm process technology are not what the foundry expected, the sources said.
TSMC is scheduled to start making Apple’s A10X chips for the next-generation iPad series slated for launch in March 2017. Unsatisfactory yields for the foundry’s 10nm process could disrupt the schedule, the sources indicated …
TSMC may have won the exclusive contract to produce the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and be on track to do the same for the A11 chip for next year’s iPhone, but the company isn’t taking future business for granted. Nikkei Asian Review reports that the company is already planning to build a new plant to create 5nm and 3nm chips to help win future Apple business …
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company winning sole supplier status for Apple’s A10 chip has seen the company achieve both record profits and share price, reports Bloomberg. It was recently suggested that record revenue suggested strong iPhone 7 sales going into the holiday quarter.
Reuters reports that analysts believe strong iPhone 7 sales are behind A10 chipmaker TSMC reporting record profit and sales in Q3, and now raising its forecast for 2016 revenue.
TSMC reported July-September net profit climbed 28 percent to T$96.8 billion ($3.08 billion) […]
TSMC, which doesn’t disclose details of customer orders, said on Thursday it now expects revenue growth to be 11-12 percent, compared with a previous estimate of a 5-10 percent increase. “Demand for high-end smartphones will continue to improve,” said co-Chief Executive Officer Mark Liu …
Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson has tweeted congratulations to chip supplier TSMC on doubling its use of renewable energy this year.
Apple chipmaker TSMC and chip designer ARM have announced that they will work together to create a 7nm FinFET process expected to enter early production in late 2017 and mass production in 2018. This would put it on track for an A11 chip in the iPhone 8.
Apple originally used ARM chips in its iOS devices, switching to its own custom chip when it launched the iPhone 5, though still using an ARM instruction set. TSMC has so far been one of two A-processor chipmakers alongside Samsung, but is rumored to be the sole producer for the A10 chip in the iPhone 7.
Apple chipmaker TSMC said that the earthquake that hit southern Taiwan earlier this month caused damage that will impact production, but has not yet given a clear indication of the scale of the problem. The company is one of two chip fabricators for the iPhone 6s, and is expected to be the sole manufacturer of the A10 chip for the iPhone 7.
The 6.4-magnitude earthquake on February 6 killed 116 people and injured many more, with significant damage also caused to manufacturing facilities …
According to a report from South Korean news outlet The Electronic Times, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, better known as TSMC, has reached a deal with Apple to be the sole provider of the processor used in the next-generation iPhone. TSMC and Samsung shared the task of building the processors for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
The WSJ reports that Foxconn and the world’s largest chip assembler, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), are fighting for control of the number three company in the chip assembly business, SPIL. ASE assembles chips used in the Apple Watch, while SPIL last year started supplying chips for iPhones.
ASE had planned to take a controlling interest in SPIL in order to protect its market-leading position and remain one jump ahead of competitors. Key iPhone assembly company Foxconn, however, persuaded the company that it would do better by collaborating with the Chinese firm in order to win more of Apple’s business.
SPIL shareholders will vote on the proposed deal with Foxconn tomorrow. Although ASE had already bought some shares in the company, it did so too late to qualify for vote, so has instead sent a letter to other SPIL shareholders urging them to vote against the motion.
All three companies are competing for system-in-package (SiP) orders from Apple, which analysts say will be worth billions of dollars.
There is huge competition for Apple’s business among chip manufacturers and assemblers, with Apple reportedly playing off Samsung and TSMC against each other in order to squeeze out last-minute price cuts for the A9 chip. Samsung’s recent return to profit was attributed to the chips it supplies to Apple.
With the recent revelation that Apple had (not unexpectedly) sourced the A9 processor in the iPhone 6s from two different suppliers came the discovery that the model manufactured by Samsung is 10% smaller than the one built by TSMC.
Along with the size difference comes a difference in the power efficiency of each model, with many reports indicating—and Apple eventually confirming—that phones with the Samsung chip will likely see 2-3% lower battery life.
Today Ars Technica has published its own findings based on the results of a set of battery tests on each processor, showing that the TSMC hardware outpaces Samsung’s in most test categories, but not all.
iPhone 6s <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/09/24/iphone-6s-teardown/" target="_blank">iFixit</a> teardown
After some debate over whether the difference between iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models made with Samsung or TSMC chips may impact battery life, Apple has offered its own take on the matter:
Our testing and customer data show the actual battery life of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, even taking into account variable component differences, vary within just 2-3% of each other.”
That 2-3% difference may be greater than some suspected, myself included, considering how tight battery life on iPhones can be with moderate to heavy usage. Apple’s full statement (via Ars Technica) actually addresses the type of battery tests many testers reference when measuring performance as being unrealistic:
Expand
Expanding
Close
We’ve heard and read a lot about Apple going with two different manufacturers for the A9 chip in its iPhone 6s. Some models ship with a processor made by TSMC while others come with a Samsung-made component. While you’d expect that Apple would ensure both are built to offer comparable performance, it appears that may not be the case. It’s already been revealed by Chipworks that the Sammy model is 10% smaller, but if a couple of videos recently published are anything to go by, you might be better off with a TSMC model…
According to Chipworks, there are actually two different sized A9 processors floating around in the iPhone 6s and 6s plus released last week. That’s not really a surprise because Apple likes to have redundancy, especially when one of the manufacturers is Samsung. We’d heard that both Samsung and TSMC would be producing A9 processors destined for the iPhone 6s.
However, there appears to be a difference in size of the two A9s which might play a role in how the iPhone performs…
Taiwan’s top court has ruled that former TSMC R&D director Liang Mong-song revealed to Samsung trade secrets that enabled it to copy the chipmaker’s FinFET manufacturing processes, reports DigiTimes. The processes are used by both companies to produce the A9 chips used in the upcoming new iPhones.
It was recently suggested that Apple was playing off the two companies against each other, with Samsung reportedly offering discounted prices in order to “grab the majority of A9 chip orders.”
The ruling of the second-instance court was according to an analysis conducted by third-party experts regarding key manufacturing processes of TSMC and Samsung […]
“The 16nm and 14nm FinFET products that both companies will mass produce this year were even more alike,” the report indicated. “It could be hard to tell (if the product) came from Samsung or TSMC if only structural analysis is used.”
Liang resigned from TSMC to take up a position at a Samsung sponsored university where all the students were said to be Samsung employees.
As Patently Apple notes, the penalty for passing on the trade secrets hardly acts as a deterrent: Liang has merely been banned from working for Samsung for a period of four months.
A new report suggests that Apple is playing A9 chip makers Samsung and TSMC against one another in the lead up to the launch of new iPhones, attempting to extract last-minute price reductions for its next-generation processors. According to the report from Digitimes, which has a mixed track record regarding upcoming Apple products, Apple is requesting lower prices from both companies. Though TSMC is “inclined to refuse,” Samsung has agreed to discount the chips, offering Apple “almost-free backend services” in an effort to “grab the majority of A9 chip orders.”
The report suggests that Apple is leveraging the novelty of the FinFET chip manufacturing process to extract concessions from TSMC, which has relatively few FinFET chip orders from other customers. A claimed reduction in Apple’s demand from 30,000 wafers per month to under 20,000 wafers would leave TSMC to make up a significant difference between Apple’s original order and the Taiwanese company’s FinFET production capacity. The impact on Apple’s upcoming A9X, which was believed to be handled by TSMC, is unclear…
