A8

Suppliers ramping up component production for ‘thinner, faster’ iPad Air 2 with Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 3, 2014

According to DigiTimes, a hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication, Apple's suppliers are ramping up production of components for a second-generation iPad Air, which sources describe as being thinner, faster and incorporating the widely expected Touch ID fingerprint scanning feature.

The report Tuesday doesn't shed more light on the matter beyond stating the obvious, that the device will run the upcoming A8 processor and be thinner than the current-generation iPad Air, which itself is 7.5mm (about 0.29 inch) thick.

Leaked photos of iPhone 6 logic board with NFC chip appear

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Sonny Dickson, known for his accurate leaks of iPhone and iPad parts, is back to fluster faces at Apple today with newly released images of the logic board from an iPhone 6, complete with an NFC chip made by NXP, as previously reported. Courtesy of Feld&Volk, the leaked photos show several additional chips on the iPhone 6's logic board besides NFC, including the AVAGO chip and Apple's A8 processor, which is supposed to be 2.0 GHz, quite a bit faster than the 1.3GHz A7 chip.

Is this iPhone 6’s A8 processor?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 29, 2014

If this image published on Weibo is genuine, the Apple-designed A8 processor said to power the iPhone 6 and new iPads may have been finally photographed. Serving as the engine powering the next wave of iPhone and iPad device, the in-house designed A8 processor is said to be clocked at two or more GHz per core, if Chinese media is to be believed.

Other rumors have pointed to the chip being manufactured using a new process technology which allows for smaller components, in turn yielding speedier performance and a lower battery draw.

iPhone 6 may have only 1GB of RAM, claimed schematic alleges [updated]

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

The general consensus among watchers and analysts regarding the engine powering the next iPhone(s) is that Apple will use an in-house designed A8 processor (reportedly clocked at 2Ghz per core). And that's about everything we know thus far about the chip.

We're still left in the dark as to how many processing and graphics cores the A8 might incorporate and we've been certainly wondering a lot about the amount of the chip's RAM. According to a leaked schematic, the iPhone 6 will remain stuck with the same 1GB of RAM as past three models...

Apple to move from TSMC to Samsung for next-gen chip production

Cody Lee ∙ July 17, 2014

Last year, Apple reached an agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to make processors for its iOS devices. The deal was part of a larger effort by the iPad-maker to reduce its reliance on Samsung.

But the move may not last long. Citing supply chain sources and KGI Securities analyst Michael Liu, Reuters is reporting that Apple is looking to shift production of its 14-nanometer next-generation chips from TSMC to Samsung...

Rumor: Apple’s A8 chip boasts frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Given Apple's past mobile processor patterns, it's fairly safe to assume that the new iPhones and iPads - when they drop this Fall - will feature a new A8 chip, designed by Apple and manufactured by both Samsung and Taiwanese chip foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

We also heard whispers that the A8 chip focuses primarily on power efficiency and thus yields only marginal CPU speed increases. However, if a new report out of China is anything to go by, that may not be the case after all as the new 20-nanometer chip is said to boasts clock frequencies of 2.0GHz or more per core...

WSJ: TSMC starts shipping 20nm A8 chips to Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

It's been long rumored that Apple for years has been working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent chip foundry, on building its in-house designed processors that power the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV devices.

Thus far, several conflicting reports have indicated that TSMC has been running test production of the upcoming A8 processor for months now, with other sources insisting that the Taiwanese chip foundry was unsuccessful kickstarting mass-production over ongoing yield issues.

A report Thursday by The Wall Street Journal has it on good authority that TSMC finally began shipping its first batch of microprocessors to Apple in the second quarter...

Rumor: improved iPad Air model with A8 chip and 8MP iSight camera enters production

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 11, 2014

According to a questionable report published Wednesday by ETNews, Apple in a repeat of 2013 is set to release an improved iPad Air model. It will have the same design as the current iPad Air, the story has it.

Most of the changes deal with the innards, such as a more power efficient and slightly faster A8 chip and an eight-megapixel camera on the back, a bump up from the five-megapixel iSight module on existing iPads.

The front-facing FaceTime camera should also see a resolution increase, going from a rather paltry 1.2-megapixel module on current models to a slightly better 1.5-megapixel one...

TSMC exec says Apple leading move to 64-bit smartphone chips, hints A8 chip production

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Apple is responsible for the mobile industry's move to 64-bit processors within smartphones after it announced the iPhone 5s in September, according to Mark Liu, co-CEO of major chip company TSMC.

This is something many industry pundits have been whispering for sometime, so it's interesting to hear from such a higher-up in the chip business. Liu, speaking at a TSMC quarterly results meeting, said it pretty bluntly...

iPhone 6 said to feature ‘Ultra-Retina’ display, 3 new sensors and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

A pair of reports surfaced this weekend, claiming to have knowledge of the features and specifications for Apple's new iPhone. The first report calls for the smartphone to have a trio of new sensors, and the other says an 'Ultra-Retina' display is in the cards.

So-called iPhone 6 rumors have been appearing rather frequently over the past few months, with everyone trying to predict the design and capabilities of Apple's next handset. A larger display, sapphire and A8 chip are all in the pile, and today we add this...

New report alleges Samsung will build iPhone 6’s A8 processor after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Shortly after Taiwan’s Commercial Times ran a story about Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) seemingly having started production of an upcoming Apple-designed A8 chip on an exclusive basis (as Samsung reportedly dropped out of the race due to yield issues), an unnamed Samsung executive in a defensive PR move took to blogs to argue that the rumor is greatly exaggerated.

Pouring cold water on the Commercial Times report, the Galaxy maker told ZDNet Korea (via GforGames) that the conglomerate has already signed a contract with Apple concerning next-generation A8 chip production. Moreover, the firm is currently in the final testing phases and is gearing up to kick off mass A8 production at its Austin, Texas facility.

The multi-billion dollar chip plant is almost entirely dedicated to Apple silicon production. Samsung's semiconductor arm has thus far churned out every iOS device processor since the original iPhone...

TSMC allegedly started producing A8 processor for iPhone 6 last month

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

A new story published by Taiwan's Commercial Times (Google translate) and relayed by Agence France Presse has it that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent foundry, has begun churning out A8 chips that will likely serve as the engine for the coming wave of iOS devices, namely the iPhone 6 and the next iPad.

TSMC also builds Touch ID sensors for the iPhone 5s. The firm is understood to account for the bulk of A8 chip manufacture as Apple's been attempting to decrease its reliance on Samsung, which up until recently used to exclusively build mobile processors for iOS devices based on Apple's blueprints...