Semiconductors

Intel could begin fabricating iPhone and iPad chips as early as 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Both in-house designed 'A10' and 'A11' chips for this year's iPhone 7 and 2017 iPhones/iPads, respectively, are believed to be manufactured solely by Taiwan's semiconductor foundry TSMC (sorry, Samsung).

According to Nikkei Asian Review, Intel is now perfectly poised to give TSMC a good run for its money in as little as two years because any Apple chips after the A10/A11 should be fabricated by Intel.

The recently signed licensing deal between Intel and UK-based ARM Holdings lets the former fabricate chips for smartphones based on the latter's CPU technology.

TSMC to build Apple’s in-house designed AMOLED driver chips for 10th Anniversary iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 17, 2016

TSMC is believed to have secured orders for an Apple-designed 'A11' system-on-a-chip expected to power so-called Tenth Anniversary iPhone and new iPads in 2017, trade publication DigiTimes reports. The chip should be fabricated on TSMC's ten-nanometer process technology and use its backend integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level packaging technology. Additionally, TSMC should build Apple-designed circuitry to drive 2017 iPhone's AMOLED panel.

Deal with ARM would theoretically let Intel build 10nm iPhone and iPad chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 16, 2016

Chip giant Intel announced today at its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco an important deal with UK-based fabless semiconductor maker ARM Holdings that will permit other foundries to build chips based on ARM's most advanced Cortex-series CPU cores using Intel's sophisticated ten-nanometer process technology.

Given that Apple's in-house designed A-series chips include fully customized 64-bit CPU cores based on ARM technology, the announcement expands Apple's options by letting its contract silicon manufacturers such as Samsung and TSMC fabricate iPhone and iPad chips using Intel's foundry services.

Intel unveils new Kaby Lake chips, VR headset for merged reality, drone platform & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 20, 2017

At Intel Developer Forum today, chip giant Intel announced a seventh-generation Core processors, code-named Kaby Lake, along with a new drone platform, an exciting open-source virtual reality project and a bunch of other goodies.

During an opening keynote presentation, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said the new Kaby Lake chips, due later this year, will let users stream movies in 4K resolution with smooth playback and long battery life.

The company did not say when a low-power edition of the latest Kaby Lake chips suitable for use in Mac notebooks and iMacs might become available to vendors.

DigiTimes: TSMC to build 16nm Apple Watch 2 chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

An Apple-designed 'S2' system-in-package that will power a second-generation Apple Watch won't be produced by Samsung, like the original Apple Watch's S1 chip. According to a new report by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, semiconductor foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has managed to beat Samsung in securing S2 orders. In fact, both the second-generation Apple Watch and an enhanced version of the original Apple Watch will be driven by the S2 chip, built using TSMC's 16-nanometer process technology.

Is this our first glimpse at iPhone 7 motherboard?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2016

The same source that posted images allegedly showing a claimed iPhone 7 chassis alongside a bunch of SIM trays in Apple Watch-like Space Black finish has now re-published a new photo that seems to picture iPhone 7 logic boards, obtained from Ming Technology on Weibo. Prolific leakster Steve Hemmerstoffer also posted his own iPhone 7 motherboard images.

TSMC reportedly wins exclusive contract to build A11 chips for 2017 iPhones and iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2016

Citing a story in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News newspaper, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported yesterday that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will be the sole supplier of an Apple-designed 'A11' chip, which should power 2017 iPhone and iPad models.

In other words, Samsung could be on the outs for the next two generations of iPhone processors as both this year's A10 and next year's A11 are now said to be exclusively manufactured by TSMC. The A11 chip will be built on the foundry's cutting-edge ten-nanometer FinFET process.

Early CPU scores suggest modest gains for iPhone 7’s A10 chip vs. iPad Pro’s A9X

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 14, 2016

Early Geekbench 3 benchmark of the Apple-designed A10 system-on-a-chip—which will be the next iPhone and iPad's engine—was posted Thursday by Dutch blog TechTastic.nl. Purported scores suggest the device may not be much speedier than the iPhone 6s and iPad Pro. The upcoming chip scored a tad more than last year’s A9 powering the iPhone 6s series and a little bit faster than the A9X in the iPad Pro.

On the other hand, the benchmarked A10 is almost certainly a prototype unit so final scores should be higher than is currently the case.

TSMC’s Q3 revenue expected to climb to a record high on strong iPhone 7 A10 chip orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2016

Citing market forecasts quoted by the Commercial Times newspaper, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Monday that shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) could hit record levels thanks to orders for the Apple-designed 'A10' system-on-a-chip, the engine that will drive the next iPhone and iPad. TSMC just posted strong numbers for the second financial quarter.

iPhone 7 ‘A10’ chip orders to help grow TSMC’s quarterly revenue by 20 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 30, 2016

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's top semiconductor foundry which Apple has commissioned to build 'A10' processors for the next iPhone alongside Samsung, is expected to grow its revenue substantially in the third quarter of this year thanks to these orders.

Taiwan's Central News Agency, quoted by trade publication DigiTimes, said this morning that TSMC is reportedly forecast to grow revenues almost twenty percent sequentially in its third quarter “as shipments for Apple's A10 processors will kick off soon”.

Bloomberg: Intel cellular modems will be reserved for AT&T iPhone 7 models

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2016

Supply chain whispers recently claimed that a significant portion of LTE cellular modems for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus would be built by Intel instead of Qualcomm and now Bloomberg is reporting that Intel modems will be actually reserved for AT&T iPhone 7 models.

Qualcomm is expected to remain Apple's modem provider for Verizon and China-bound iPhone 7 handsets. Qualcomm's boss had said he expected a major customer to diversify its supplier base.

Intel shares details of next-gen Kaby Lake chips, Core i7 Extreme Edition and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 31, 2016

Intel today announced at the Computex 2016 show in Taiwan that its seventh-generation Core processors, code-named Kaby Lake, are slated to arrive later this year. It also shared details about an all-new ”Extreme” edition of the Core i7 chip for gamers and content creators, the Apollo Lake chips for tablets and hybrid devices such as all-in-ones, and more.

The company highlighted some of the advancements in performance, battery and media capabilities that the Kybe Lake platform provides. In a way, the announcement has paved the way for future Macs built around the Kybe Lake platform.