Apple (Photo : Reuters)
Apple's release date plans for the iPhone 6S are likely to materialize very soon as report from Asia suggested that volume production of the A9 application processor is set to start anytime in the second half of 2015. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) is gearing up on its production activities, the report added.
"TSMC will move its 16nm FinFET processes to volume production in the second half of 2015," Taiwan-based DigiTimes reported this week. Rumors are rife that Apple will use the 16-nanometer A9 chip as main engine for its 2015 iOS device line up, bannered by the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, though the tech giant has yet to issue official word on the matter.
Analysts believed that Apple has tapped Samsung and TSMC as suppliers of the A9 chips.
The same report added that TSMC will "start receiving 10nm product tape-outs at the end of the year," likely pertaining to the manufacturing process that will be used for the next-generation A10 application, which will power up the iPhone 7 next year as well as the 2016 iPads.
Production Start
While the report provided no specific date for the production start, the assumption is that the actual manufacturing is already underway with the likelihood that the large-scale assembly of the next iPhone will commence in the immediate weeks ahead.
This is in line with the recent forecast given by KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo that the 6S and 6S Plus will arrive either in August or September 2015. According to Apple Insider, Kuo is pretty confident that this year's iPhone refresh will happen as early as August, leading to the possibility that building of the device could begin no later than June this year.
Specs, Features & More
The timeline being floated around so far appears to sync solidly with Apple's unfolding schedule - the 2015 WWDC happened this week as it always did every June of the year. And the event formally introduced the iOS 9, which in turn provided the backbone features that will be seen in the final cut of the iPhone 6S.
Among the new functionalities presented are longer battery life and easier software update process not only for the iPhone 6S but for all iOS gadgets. Yet prior to the iOS 9 unveiling, reports have come out saying that the next iPhone will finally boast of a 12MP main camera and 32GB of internal storage as the basic model.
These stories, however, will only be confirmed once the iPhone 6S is actually unboxed. The device release date, as mentioned, will be as early as August or October 2015 as the latest arrival time.
