Apple has chosen Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) over Samsung Electronics in manufacturing their A10 chips for the company's iPhone 7 series. (Photo : YouTube/IC Entertainment)
Apple has chosen Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) over Samsung Electronics in manufacturing their A10 chips for the company's iPhone 7 series.
According to reports by Tech Portal, A10 shall most probably be fabricated on 16nm FinFET process. This will allow A10 to deliver a more powerful and stable performance than chips manufactured on 14nm FinFET process. TSMC is likely to begin production of A10 chips by June this year.
However, BGR reported that there may be some delay in production, owing to the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan in February this year. The earthquake reportedly caused some damage to TSMC's manufacturing base. TSMC has estimated that the earthquake may have caused around one percent decrease in production of A10 chips in 2016.
Apple had previously worked with both TSMC and Samsung in manufacturing of its chips. Tech Crunch reported that in 2014 TSMC had won an exclusive contract to manufacture Apple's A8 chips. Thereafter, in 2015, both TSMC and Samsung signed contracts to manufacture A9 chips used in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
It is speculated that Apple's decision to choose TSMC over Samsung may have been based on lower prices quoted by TSMC in manufacturing A10 chips. Another probable reason is that A9 chips manufactured by TSMC scored over those manufactured by Samsung, in terms of quality. A wilder speculation doing rounds is that Apple may have deliberately avoided Samsung this time in backdrop of serious competition between their smartphones.
For reference, numerous reports before mentioned that Apple's move in choosing multiple manufacturers for its chips is a wise measure. First, it ensures that Apple has multiple options for manufacturing which may come in handy in times of short supply. Second, Apple has multiple options that translate into bargaining power while negotiating over prices. Third, Apple has a scope to choose the most advanced design for its chips.
Since Apple has exclusively signed TSMC to manufacture A10 chips, will the Taiwanese company be able to provide the necessary target of supply this year?
Watch the iPhone 7 concept trailer below:
