TSMC

iPhone 8 might run a cutting-edge 7nm processor

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 16, 2016

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the world's top semiconductor foundry, and ARM holdings plc, a British multinational fabless semiconductor designer, have joined forces to make an upcoming 7-nanometer FinFET process a reality in time for volume production in early-2017.

TSMC currently manufactures the iPhone 6s's A9 chip on its 16-nanometer process, while Samsung-made A9 chips are fabbed on a smaller 14-nanometer process.

The timing of TSMC's seven-nanometer FinFET process suggests it might be used to fabricate Apple-designed 'A11' processors for the iPhone 8 in 2017. By comparison, Intel has said it will produce 10nm node processors in the second half of 2017.

TSMC to be sole supplier of processors for iPhone 7, report says

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

A new report late Wednesday claims that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will be the exclusive supplier of mobile processors for Apple's next generation iPhone. The news comes from South Korea's Electronic Times, via Reuters, who cites unnamed sources within the industry.

ET says that TSMC beat out rival, and long-time Apple chip-maker, Samsung for the job thanks to its ability to scale its 10-nanometer process. Their report lines up with previous analyst predictions, who felt TSMC would take 100% of Apple's next-gen chip orders thanks to its InFO chip tech.

Analysts are confident that TSMC will grab 100% of Apple’s chipset business in 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 10, 2015

Although the present-generation A9 and A9X processors are being built by both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and Samsung, it appears that Samsung will be left out entirely from the lucrative contract to build the forthcoming A10 chipset for 2016 iOS devices.

Barron's on Thursday cited analyst Bonil Koo with investment bank UBS as saying that all A10 orders will be exclusively handled by TSMC, posing a major problem for Samsung.

Decoding iPhone 7 chip architecture…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 2, 2017

Apple is thought to become the first customer that will take advantage of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) InFO chip manufacturing process in building in-house designed A10 chips for 2016 iOS devices, potentially allowing it to trim some fat off the next iPhone model.

Taking a step back to take a look at the bigger picture, we analyze Apple's chip efforts thus far and make educated guesses as to what advances in terms of silicon design and integration the next iPhone might allow.

We'll also reflect on how having the foresight to take its chip destiny into its own hands more than five years ago has helped Apple differentiate itself from competition.

Analyst predicts 100% of Apple’s A10 chip orders will be handled by TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 6, 2017

Bad news for Samsung as rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been predicted to account for a cool 100 percent of orders for Apple's next-generation A10 processor expect to serve as the powerful engine for 2016 iPhones and iPads.

Taiwanese media quoted a JP Morgan analyst as saying that Samsung will be left out entirely from the lucrative contract to build these chipsets. The current A9 and A9X processors are being built by both TSMC and Samsung.

How to check if you have TSMC or Samsung chip in your iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 15, 2019

For the first time ever, Apple has dual-sourced the engine that drives the new handsets from more than one supplier. Both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) won contracts to build the Apple-designed 'A9' system-on-a-chip for the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

While these chips offer literally the same compute and graphics power, both synthetic benchmarks and real-life tests have shown small yet notable difference in terms of battery as the TSCM-built A9 appears to be more power efficient than its Samsung counterpart.

The question is, does your brand spanking new iPhone 6s have the TSMC or Samsung-built chip? You can find that out in just a few simple steps, let me show you how.

Samsung-built A9 chip in iPhone 6s found to drain battery faster than TSMC one, Apple doesn’t really agree

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2018

Does your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus come outfitted with Samsung or TSMC-built A9 processor? The answer to that question could determine how long your device will run before its battery needs recharging.

Your key takeaway is this: while the dual-sourced chips perform identically in synthetic Geekbench tests in terms of sheer CPU compute power and GPU performance, there's a marked difference in observed battery life ranging from six to eleven percent.

You could argue the difference is barely felt in day-to-day use, but I beg to differ: energy efficiency is paramount for mobile devices and the battery-friendlier the main processor is, the longer it will run on a single charge.

How to check if you have a Samsung or TSMC A9 processor inside of your iPhone 6s

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

You've probably heard that Apple is using A9 processors from two different sources for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. One processor is from Samsung, and the other is from TSMC.

It's been confirmed via benchmarks that both processors perform similarly with no major differences in performance. With that said, each processor features a different die size, which was first noted by Chipworks. The Samsung processor is the smaller of the two. Physically, it's 96mm squared, while the TSMC A9 is 104.5 mm squared.

Chipworks conjectures that two different sources were used due to supply constraints. They also say that they are further researching both processors in an effort to gain better clarity.

Ultimately, it really doesn't mean much to the end user, but I know that curiosity gets the best of us at times. If you'd like to check to see who sourced your A9 processor, you can follow these simple steps.

Semiconductor analysis confirms iPhone 6s ‘A9’ chip manufactured by Samsung and TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 29, 2015

An initial analysis of the Apple-designed A9 system-on-a-chip powering the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, conducted by semiconductor experts over at Chipworks, has identified both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company as manufacturers of the package.

What's really interesting is that the A9 comes in two sizes, depending on who manufactured it, with the Samsung-built units being a bit smaller than those manufactured by TSMC. This is the first time an Apple-designed processor for an iPhone came in two different sizes.

Apple reportedly commissions TSMC to exclusively build in-house designed ‘A10’ chips for ‘iPhone 7’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

The iPhone 6s featuring Apple's in-house designed 'A9’ microchip is yet to start shipping but the firm's already commissioned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build a next-generation 'A10’ package expected to power 2016 iOS devices like an 'iPhone 7,’ third-generation iPad Air and second-generation iPad Pro, according to supply chain chatter Monday.

Official: Samsung stole trade secrets from TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 26, 2015

Samsung lifted trade secrets from rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the world's #1 independent semiconductor foundry, Taiwan's top court has ruled.

According to a report published Wednesday by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, the court has determined that Liang Mong-song, a former senior director of research and development at TSMC, revealed TSMC's trade secrets and patents related to its advanced FinFET process technology to Samsung Electronics.

The report makes no mention of Apple, but the connection couldn't be clearer: Samsung might have been able to leverage the stolen secrets to win orders for Apple's next-generation 'A9' processor. Prior reports have posited that both Samsung and TSMC got to build Apple's A9 chips on the advanced 14-nanometer FinFET process technology which uses entirely new three-dimensional transistors.

Volume production of Apple’s next-generation ‘A9’ processor for new iPhones has kicked off

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 16, 2015

Volume production of an Apple-designed next-generation “A9” chip, the engine that will power the next iPhone and iPad, has begun at facilities operated by Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry.

According to a report published Friday by DigiTimes, a semi-accurate Taiwanese trade publication, the two rivals get to share orders and both have now started volume production of the chips.

Supply chain sources interviewed by The Wall Street Journal estimate Apple's ordered a record 80 million units of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus units by the end of 2015.