Mar 07
Further feeding the rumors surrounding Apple’s next chip, Taiwanese media are reporting that the privilege of manufacturing the A8 has been awarded to TSMC. This creates a further gap between … Continue reading
Mar 05
Apple is yet to release a new mobile device in this year, and its expected that this isn’t going to happen at least until the second half of the year. That’s because usually Apple launches new mobile devices in the last few months of the year, as evidently seen in 2013 with the launch of new iPads and iPhones. 2014′s crop of Apple mobile devices is expected to come with a whole new processor, the A8, which is apparently going to be mass produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Rumors coming out of Taiwan suggest that TSMC has already started production.
Apple A8 Processor Reportedly Enters Production original content from Ubergizmo. 
     |
Dec 18
There has been a lot of talk about Apple wanting to end its reliance upon Samsung. The Korean company provides components as well as manufactures mobile chips for a number of Apple’s products. Similar companies have not been able to fully rival Samsung’s technology, production capacity or even prices, which is why Apple is having to stick with it even though both companies are almost always daggers drawn in court. According to a new Digitimes report, TSMC might start easing into Apple’s mobile chip supply chain next year and move up in 2015.
Apple is expected to transition to the 14nm fabrication process in 2015 for its A9 chip. As per the report, Samsung will only handle 30 to 40 percent of the production of those chips, rest will all be taken care of by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company or TSMC. TSMC has already confirmed its deal with Apple to manufacture processors, it has been rumored to be involved in manufacturing right now, however there have been numerous reports of production bottlenecks, perhaps that is why almost all of the new iOS devices Apple released this year were mostly powered by chips manufactured by Samsung. Digitimes is known for its hit or miss track record when it comes to rumors from the supply chain, so take the usual grain of salt.
Apple Said To Source 14nm A9 Chips From TSMC And Samsung In 2015 original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Oct 14
![Galaxy S5 To Have Exynos 6 14nm 64 Bit Processor [Rumor]](https://i0.wp.com/cdnrss.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Samsung-galaxy-note-3-10-640x426.jpg?resize=640%2C426 "Galaxy S5 To Have Exynos 6 14nm 64 Bit Processor [Rumor]")
It was recently reported that Samsung is developing new mobile chipsets based on the 20nm manufacturing process. These chips would have offered better performance and efficiency as compared to existing 28nm chips. Rumor has it that Samsung might skip the 20nm manufacturing process altogether and instead adopt the 14nm processor straight from the existing 28nm. The reason why Samsung is making this decision, according to Korean DDaily News, is because it wants to make a “comeback” in the foundry business amid mounting competition from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., commonly known as TSMC.
TSMC is working on 20nm chips already, so Samsung just might be willing to go one step ahead so as to bolster its dominance in the foundry business. The 14nm “Exynos 6″ chip is said to have 64-bit support as well, along with ARM big.LITTLE octacore configuration and Cortex A53/A57 cores. Apparently these cores will be operational simultaneously while needing almost half the power that the Exynos 5420 chip requires. Samsung is said to finish production of sample units by the end of this year. Samsung Galaxy S5 is reportedly going to be the first smartphone to debut these new chips, though that might not pan out if recent rumors are true. Apparently Samsung has pushed Galaxy S5 launch to January 2014 as Galaxy S4 sales have reportedly not met internal expectations.
Galaxy S5 To Have ‘Exynos 6′ 14nm 64-Bit Processor [Rumor] original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Sep 29
There have been rumors that TSMC would handle some of Apple’s future chip production, but details of the purported arrangement have been vague. The Korea Economic Daily may have just filled us in, however. It claims that Samsung will make 30 to 40 percent of Apple’s A8 processors next year, with TSMC presumably assembling the lion’s share. Apple wanted TSMC to be the sole manufacturer, but the challenge of building 20 nanometer-class chips led to a supplementary agreement with Samsung, according to the Daily‘s tipsters. Neither side has commented on the report, so take it with a large grain of salt. If the story is accurate, though, it suggests that Apple will have only modest success in excluding its arch-rival’s technology from next-generation iOS devices.
[Thanks, Byungjin]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung
Sep 29
Time and time again it has been rumored that Apple is looking to shift its chip manufacturing business away from Samsung. Rumors about this possibility were in circulation prior to the launch of the company’s new iPhones as well, which run on chips made by the company’s rival. The South Korean giant has long remained one of the biggest manufacturers of processors for Apple. A Korean newspaper reports that the A8 processor, which will probably debut with next year’s devices, will be primarily manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. As per the report, TSMC might handle nearly 60 – 70 percent of all A8 manufacturing.
The reason why Apple is said to shift most of its processor business away from Samsung is believed to be the endless legal battles both companies fight, and the fact that both of them are competing for supremacy in the global smartphone market. Earlier this year Apple signed a contract with TSMC, confirming that it will be receiving processors from the Taiwan based company. However, through next year, majority of the manufacturing is said to be done by Samsung. For the A8, it is believed that Samsung will only account for 30 to 40 percent of the total production of this processor, in 2014.
TSMC Will Reportedly Be The Prime Manufacturer Of Apple A8 Processors original content from Ubergizmo. 
| |
Jul 15
Apple is said to be using Samsung to build the A9 mobile chips for the iPhone and iPad in 2015, another sign that the firm’s attempts to extricate itself from its rival’s production expertise are struggling. Although Apple had switched to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) for its A-series chip production starting in 2014, according to The Korea Economic Daily it’s Samsung’s expertise in 14nm manufacturing that has won back Apple’s business.
According to the Korean site, Samsung and Apple inked an agreement on July 14, specifically for the Apple A9 chipset expected to be in 2015′s iPhone. The chip will use 14nm “FinFET” technology, it’s said; if Apple’s “S” nomenclature pattern continues, by that point we’ll likely be seeing the iPhone 6S, though the Korean report suggests it will be the iPhone 7.
Apple and Samsung have had a tumultuous relationship over the past few years, spending as much time in the courtroom attempting to extract huge damages payments and have their rival’s devices banned from sale, as they have negotiating components. Samsung has always been a significant supplier for Apple – as well as processors, it supplies flash memory and other components – but since the legal escalations Apple has attempted to broaden its supply chain and avoid giving quite so much money to its Korean foe.
Chipsets had been a bottleneck, despite the ongoing efforts of TSMC, but news of a deal over the upcoming Apple A8 had been seen as a sign that Samsung was being pushed out of its privileged position.
Instead, Samsung’s work on 14nm manufacturing has paid dividends, offering something TSMC reportedly cannot. 14nm chips are expected to offer performance improvements as well as a reduction in power consumption, with a central silicon “fin” running the length of the transistor.
The first devices to use the A9 processors aren’t expected to show up for some time yet, and their specifications haven’t been confirmed. The current iPhone 5 runs Apple’s A6 chip, though the upcoming refreshed version – expected to be the iPhone 5S – is likely to use the newer version, the A6X. That’s currently used in the fourth-gen full-sized iPad, though could be modified for the lower-power requirements of the new iPhone.
VIA MacRumors
Apple’s iPhone 6S could have a Samsung A9 heart (sorry TSMC) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 15
Samsung has been exclusively making chips for Apple’s iOS devices since the first iPhone started shipping in 2007 — we don’t need to tell you that makes for an odd relationship. Several months ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple would switch to TSMC for next year’s iOS portfolio, but now there’s some strange news coming out of Korea. According to a local publication, Apple’s 2015 iOS devices will use Samsung’s 14 nanometer FinFET technology, starting with the iPhone 7 (not the 6S?). Why would Apple switch to TSMC for just one year and then go back to Samsung? Is Apple planning to rely on both TSMC and Samsung for different product lines? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until Chipworks breaks out its microscopes to find out what’s really going on.
Via: MacRumors
Source: The Korea Economic Daily
Jul 02
Samsung may already have its 8-core Exynos 5 Octa offering, but the cunning “big.LITTLE” implementation means only up to four cores work together at any time — either the Cortex-A15 quartet or its lesser Cortex-A7 counterpart. In other words, we’d rather rename the chipset range to something like “Exynos 5 Quad Dual.” But according to recent intel coming from Taipei and Shenzhen, it looks like Taiwan’s MediaTek is well on its way to ship a true 8-core mobile chipset in Q4 this year.
Source: Sina Weibo (login required), UDN (1), (2)
Jun 30
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.