Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will remain the major supplier for Apple’s upcoming 14-nanometre A9 processor, reports Taipei Times, contrary to previous reports.
Apple is currently using TSMC and Samsung to manufacture A8 and A8X chips for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. TSMC has the majority of the production – roughly 70 percent.
Taipei Times says that thanks to TSMC’s better yields and leaner production, the Taiwan-based company will retain the majority, rather than South Korea-based Samsung, like previously thought.
KGI Securities analyst Michael Liu said in July that TSMC will be supplanted by Samsung in the production of 14nm smartphone chips for Apple and Qualcomm beginning in the second half of 2015. Taipei Times says things have changed.
It’s still early days for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus rumors, but it’s likely the A9 processor will be faster and find its place in the speedier iPhone in fall 2015 – duh.
Luckily for Samsung, it won’t be pushed out of production Apple chip completely. Taipei Times reports Samsung could still make the minority of chips, as Apple likes to have multiple supply chains running to avoid running into major manufacturing back-ups/catastrophes that would extremely hamper a product launch.
In its report, Taipei Times also quoted analyst Chris Hung from MIC who said Taiwan will be remaining semiconductor king for quite sometime.
“Although Beijing is to back up the development of its semiconductor industry with an industry-supporting fund of 120 billion yuan [US$19.29 billion], Taiwan still has its technological advantages in terms of design, manufacturing and packaging in the global market,” Hung said.