Apple’s primary mobile chip supplier insists the coronavirus epidemic will not affect production.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) this week said it is on track to deliver orders as usual, according to one report. But Apple certainly isn’t out of woods yet.
iPhone chip-maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) enjoyed a 9% boost in revenue in November.
The increase can be attributed to strong demand for the company’s 7-nanometer chipsets, which power Apple’s latest crop of smartphones. And TSMC is confident the success will continue into the holidays.
This fall’s iPhone models will supposedly include a processor able to outperform any Android handset. It apparently won’t be just a little bit better, either. The source for this unconfirmed report on the A13 chip says it will offer “a one-year advantage” in graphics performance. Multi-core performance supposedly will get a large boost, too.
Apple manufacturing partner TSMC has reportedly started mass-production of the A11 chip that will power the iPhone 8.
The new chip is said to be based on a 10-nanometer manufacturing process, which should make it faster and more efficient than the 16-nanometer A10 Fusion in the iPhone 7.
Early benchmarks suggest it will be even faster than the A10X Fusion chip in the latest iPad Pros.
Despite rumors claiming the contrary, there will be no delay in the launch of the iPhone 8, claims China’s Economic Daily News.
Citing sources in the downstream supply chain, the newspaper says new iPhones will start selling in October, and not as late as 2018 as some reports have claimed.
A new report claims that the next-gen iPad Pro, set to be unveiled early in 2017, could be delayed due to lower-than-expected yield rates on the 10-nanometer A10X chips used in the device.
Strong demand for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus helped chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company achieve record profits for 2016. Not only is TSMC outperforming its rivals, but it now accounts for 16 percent of Taiwan’s entire equity market value.
From the sound of things, Apple is focusing a lot of attention on next year’s iPhone launch as the biggest handset refresh since 2014’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
Alongside OLED displays, wireless charging, an all-glass enclosure and a lack of physical home button, the iPhone 7s (or possibly iPhone 8 if certain rumors are to be believed) will also include a next-next-gen A11 chip. And Apple’s already working on it.
The Chipgate controversy upsetting iPhone 6s owners over the past 48 hours is completely overblown, Apple said this afternoon, claiming battery life on iPhone 6s units varies only slightly.
iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus owners have discovered that devices with a TSMC A9 chip get considerably better battery performance than ones sporting an A9 made by Samsung, based on GeekBench 3 scores and some real-world testing. However, Apple says that “manufactured lab tests” that continuously run a heavy workload don’t represent the iPhone 6s’ true capabilities.
Here’s Apple’s full statement on Chipgate:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reached a deal with Apple to supply its next-generation A8, A9, and A9X processors for iOS devices, according to industry sources. The company will reportedly begin manufacturing the chips using a 20-nanometer process, then upgrade to 16-nanometer and later 10-nanometer processes in the future.
