The A11 Bionic chip from last year makes the iPhone X run faster than the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9. And now Apple is about to release the A12, a replacement with even quicker performance.
A switch to a better manufacturing process will bring some of those performance increases, while at the same time using less power. And other improvements are expected to further boost the speed.
TSMC has produced every iPhone processor for several years, and is reportedly going to continue to be Apple’s sole source for chips.
Apple generally prefers to get components from multiple sources, but apparently no company — not even Samsung or Intel — can compete with TSMC. That makes the two companies very dependent on each other.
A computer virus infected the fabrication tools and computers at TSMC’s factories that are likely producing Apple’s next-generation iPhone processors.
The company is still cleaning the malware off its equipment, but expects to be finished by tomorrow.
Someone testing a 2018 iPhone prototype inadvertently uploaded benchmark results for this device. Among the other details revealed is an indication that this will be the first iPhone with 4GB of RAM.
Naturally, the Geekbench results also include the performance. However, with the model still months away, scores are a bit underwhelming.
The Apple A12 processor, the heart of the 2018 iPhone, is reportedly already being manufactured. It’s being produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which has made Apple’s chips for years.
Even though the next iPhone isn’t expected until fall, TSMC isn’t getting a head start. It takes about three months to convert silicon into a microprocessor.
