TSMC

By MacRumors Staff

TSMC Articles

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TSMC Reportedly Completing Designs for 10-nm A11 Chip With Early 2017 Availability

Friday May 6, 2016 2:36 am PDT by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun to "tape out" the design for Apple's A11 processor built on a 10nm FinFET process, according to industry sources (via DigiTimes). Taping out refers to the initial design of the chip having been completed for creation of the masks that will be used to print the actual chips, although further tweaks are likely as test production is carried ...
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TSMC Plans to Double 16nm Chip Production in Preparation for iPhone 7

Wednesday March 2, 2016 8:18 am PST by
According to a new report from Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has plans to double the output capacity of its 16nm chip production from 40,000 12-inch wafers in February to 80,000 in March. The news corroborates previous reports that suggested TSMC was ready to expand its 16nm FinFET production capacity in the second quarter of 2016, solely for the...
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iPhone 7 Chip Manufacturer Counts Cost of Earthquake Damage

Monday February 15, 2016 5:40 am PST by
The sole company responsible for manufacturing the processor in Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has reduced its shipping estimates after its facilities were damaged in an earthquake (via DigiTimes). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) suffered the damage to its plants on February 6 when a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the southern part of the country. Initially, TSMC ...
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iPhone 7 Processor to Be Manufactured Solely by TSMC [Updated]

Wednesday February 10, 2016 5:20 pm PST by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reached a deal with Apple to be the only manufacturer for the iPhone 7's processor, likely called the A10, reports The Electronic Times [Google Translate]. TSMC won over Apple largely because of its 10-nanometer manufacturing process. The chip will reportedly go into full production in June. While TSMC's 10-nanometer process is one reason...
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Rumored A10 Production Win for TSMC Could Be Tied to Device Packaging Advances

Friday November 6, 2015 7:29 am PST by
According to a recent report from Taiwan's Commercial Times, via EE Times and a separate research report from KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, Taiwan-based TSMC may have won sole production rights on the A10 chip slated for the next-generation iPhone 7. This is in contrast to the split production of the A9 processor between Samsung and TSMC featured in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Apple's...
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Controlled Testing Supports Apple's Claim of Nearly Equal iPhone 6s Battery Life With TSMC and Samsung Chips

Monday October 12, 2015 12:12 pm PDT by
Last week Apple addressed concerns over battery life discrepancies between the TSMC and Samsung A9 chips used in the iPhone 6s and the 6s Plus, suggesting a real world battery life difference of only two to three percent between the chips despite Geekbench battery tests that had pointed towards a bigger gap. Ars Technica has now conducted controlled battery life tests on two iPhone 6s models,...
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Apple Claims TSMC vs Samsung A9 Chip Variants Result in Only 2-3% Difference in 'Real World' Battery Life

Thursday October 8, 2015 2:47 pm PDT by
Over the past several days, a slew of battery tests on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus have revealed some performance differences between models that have an A9 chip manufactured by TSMC and those with an A9 chip created by Samsung. While various benchmarking and real world usage tests have shown differences of 6 percent to 22 percent, in favor of TSMC chips, Apple says that its own testing...
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Samsung and TSMC iPhone 6s Chips Show Smaller Real-World Battery Impacts Compared to Benchmarks

Thursday October 8, 2015 8:53 am PDT by
The news that Apple dual sourced its A9 chips for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been a point of discussion over the past few weeks, especially when new battery tests on the phones pointed towards the TSMC chips outperforming those made by Samsung. Following the news, several YouTubers have begun creating videos to compare the dual sourced chips in both battery-straining tests and basic...
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TSMC's A9 Chip Outperforming Samsung's in Early iPhone 6s Battery Benchmarks

Wednesday October 7, 2015 1:08 pm PDT by
Following the launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus last month, it was discovered that Apple is dual sourcing the A9 chip for the new devices from both TSMC and Samsung, with the chips from the two companies measuring at slightly different sizes due to different processes used in manufacturing the chips. As users began to determine which chips were used in their devices, data began to point toward...
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TSMC Said to Begin Exclusive Production of A10 Chip for iPhone 7 in March 2016

Monday September 14, 2015 5:26 am PDT by
Less than a week after the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were announced, the overseas supply chain is reportedly already preparing for production and component certification ahead of the iPhone 7. Taiwan-based China Times reports (via G4Games) that Apple supplier TSMC has secured exclusive orders for the A10 chip based on a 16-nanometer manufacturing process. The report claims TSMC will...
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Samsung and TSMC Begin Production of A9 Chips for 'iPhone 6s'

Thursday July 16, 2015 9:10 am PDT by
Apple manufacturing partners Samsung and TSMC have started volume production of A9 chips for the so-called "iPhone 6s," according to DigiTimes. The report claims Apple requested last-minute changes to the chip layout, requiring both chipmakers to rework wafers, but the modifications are not expected to impact the release schedule of the next-generation iPhone. Apple's iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus ...
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TSMC May Supply 30% of A9 Chip Orders for Next-Generation iPhone

Wednesday April 15, 2015 7:51 pm PDT by
Earlier this month, a report indicated that Samsung would produce the A9 chip for the next-generation iPhone. Now, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable source on Apple's future plans, says that he expects Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to supply 30% of the chip orders for the next-generation iPhone. This is the latest turn in what has become a back-and-forth affair...
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Samsung Confirmed to Produce A9 Chips for Apple's Next-Generation Devices

Thursday April 2, 2015 7:38 pm PDT by
Samsung will provide Apple with A9 chips for its next-generation iPhone and other devices, reports Bloomberg, confirming a previous report in early February. Over the past couple of months there had been confusion and conflicting reports as to whether Samsung, Apple's longtime supplier and rival, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would produce the chips. Samsung will start ...
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Samsung to Produce A9 Chips for Apple's Next-Generation Devices

Wednesday February 4, 2015 11:42 am PST by
Longtime Apple rival and supplier Samsung will be responsible for manufacturing the A9 chips for Apple's next-generation iPhone and iPad, Re/code confirmed today. Over the past several months, there's been a lot of confusion over whether Samsung or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would produce Apple's A9 chips, but recent rumors suggest that Samsung's technological advances have ...
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Apple Diversifies Chip Orders for iOS Device and Apple Watch Amid Predictions of ARM Macs

Wednesday January 14, 2015 7:15 am PST by
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has frequently offered accurate information on Apple's product plans based on supply chain information, has released a new report outlining his expectations for the company's chips over the next several years. Kuo highlights a diversified supplier lineup for Apple's A-series chips used in its iOS devices, with TSMC, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries all...
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TSMC Reportedly Ahead of Schedule With New 16nm Technology for Apple's A9 Chip

Monday August 25, 2014 8:37 am PDT by
According to Taiwan's Economic Daily News [Google Translate, via Digitimes], Apple's reported current A-series chip partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is ahead of schedule with its next-generation 16nm process for chip production. The Chinese-language report claims TSMC will begin 16nm volume production in Q1 2015, a full quarter earlier than its originally projected Q2...
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TSMC Provides First Batch of Fingerprint Sensors for iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 3

Wednesday May 7, 2014 4:29 am PDT by
Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly provided the first batch of Touch ID fingerprint sensors to be used in the iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, according to a new report from component information website cecb2b.com citing supply chain sources (Google Translate, via GforGames). In addition to production at TSMC, the report notes that the...