Semiconductors

Rumor: iPhone 7 chips to be encapsulated in EMI shielding

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 16, 2016

Korean publication ETNews is claiming that Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 smartphone refresh will reduce electromagnetic interference by encapsulating major chips, including its application processor, into an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding.

According to ETNews, key iPhone 7 chips such as the main 'A10' processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, cellular modems and RF chips will be protected by EMI shielding, which involves covering a chip's surface with ultra-thin metal. Prior iPhones have used EMI shielding on the printed circuit board and the connectors to reduce electromagnetic interference.

Analysts are confident that TSMC will grab 100% of Apple’s chipset business in 2016

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 10, 2015

Although the present-generation A9 and A9X processors are being built by both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and Samsung, it appears that Samsung will be left out entirely from the lucrative contract to build the forthcoming A10 chipset for 2016 iOS devices.

Barron's on Thursday cited analyst Bonil Koo with investment bank UBS as saying that all A10 orders will be exclusively handled by TSMC, posing a major problem for Samsung.

Benchmarks put iPad Pro’s A9X chip roughly on par with Intel’s 2013 Core i5

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 12, 2015

The powerful Apple-designed 'A9X' system-on-a-chip—the engine that drives the iPad Pro—outperforms its predecessor inside the iPad Air 2 by a large margin while offering approximately the same performance as Intel's Core i5 processor for notebooks from 2013.

In terms of graphics, the iPad Pro still manages to outperform the fluidness of the iPad Air 2 despite having more pixels on a bigger screen. That's the gist of a series of synthetic benchmarks that ArsTechnica ran as part of its massive review of the iPad Pro in order to determine just how speedy Apple's new tablet is.

iPad Pro doesn’t support untethered ‘Hey Siri’

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 12, 2015

Although Apple's iPad Pro Tech Specs webpage states in black and white that the device's A9X system-on-a-chip includes an embedded 'M9' motion coprocessor, just like its A9 counterpart powering the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the tablet doesn't support untethered 'Hey Siri' functionality when not connected to power, AppleInsider discovered yesterday.

Decoding iPhone 7 chip architecture…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 2, 2017

Apple is thought to become the first customer that will take advantage of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) InFO chip manufacturing process in building in-house designed A10 chips for 2016 iOS devices, potentially allowing it to trim some fat off the next iPhone model.

Taking a step back to take a look at the bigger picture, we analyze Apple's chip efforts thus far and make educated guesses as to what advances in terms of silicon design and integration the next iPhone might allow.

We'll also reflect on how having the foresight to take its chip destiny into its own hands more than five years ago has helped Apple differentiate itself from competition.

Intel has 1,000 engineers working on integrated LTE modem for iPhone 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

According to a report this weekend from VentureBeat, chip giant Intel has assembled a team of 1,000 engineers who are working hard on adapting its LTE modem for an 'iPhone 7.'

The move potentially indicates a major loss for Qualcomm, which supplied LTE modems for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and previous iPhones. Intel's lauded 7360 LTE modem chip is being reworked for an iPhone, the story asserts.

Moreover, VentureBeat claims that Apple could, for the first time ever, embed the modem chip into its in-house designed A-series system-on-a-chip, resulting in an even tighter component integration.

Analyst predicts 100% of Apple’s A10 chip orders will be handled by TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 6, 2017

Bad news for Samsung as rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has been predicted to account for a cool 100 percent of orders for Apple's next-generation A10 processor expect to serve as the powerful engine for 2016 iPhones and iPads.

Taiwanese media quoted a JP Morgan analyst as saying that Samsung will be left out entirely from the lucrative contract to build these chipsets. The current A9 and A9X processors are being built by both TSMC and Samsung.

iPhone chips infringe University of Wisconsin’s tech, Apple faces $862M in damages

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2015

The Apple-designed, TSMC/Samsung-manufactured A7, A8 and A8X mobile chips that power the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices released since 2013 have been found to infringe technology patents owned by the University of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

As a result, Apple is now facing a damages payout of $862.4 million, Reuters reported yesterday. The aforesaid chips power the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini with Retina display, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4.

How to check if you have TSMC or Samsung chip in your iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 15, 2019

For the first time ever, Apple has dual-sourced the engine that drives the new handsets from more than one supplier. Both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) won contracts to build the Apple-designed 'A9' system-on-a-chip for the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

While these chips offer literally the same compute and graphics power, both synthetic benchmarks and real-life tests have shown small yet notable difference in terms of battery as the TSCM-built A9 appears to be more power efficient than its Samsung counterpart.

The question is, does your brand spanking new iPhone 6s have the TSMC or Samsung-built chip? You can find that out in just a few simple steps, let me show you how.

Samsung-built A9 chip in iPhone 6s found to drain battery faster than TSMC one, Apple doesn’t really agree

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2018

Does your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus come outfitted with Samsung or TSMC-built A9 processor? The answer to that question could determine how long your device will run before its battery needs recharging.

Your key takeaway is this: while the dual-sourced chips perform identically in synthetic Geekbench tests in terms of sheer CPU compute power and GPU performance, there's a marked difference in observed battery life ranging from six to eleven percent.

You could argue the difference is barely felt in day-to-day use, but I beg to differ: energy efficiency is paramount for mobile devices and the battery-friendlier the main processor is, the longer it will run on a single charge.

Semiconductor analysis confirms iPhone 6s ‘A9’ chip manufactured by Samsung and TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 29, 2015

An initial analysis of the Apple-designed A9 system-on-a-chip powering the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, conducted by semiconductor experts over at Chipworks, has identified both Samsung and rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company as manufacturers of the package.

What's really interesting is that the A9 comes in two sizes, depending on who manufactured it, with the Samsung-built units being a bit smaller than those manufactured by TSMC. This is the first time an Apple-designed processor for an iPhone came in two different sizes.

Apple reportedly commissions TSMC to exclusively build in-house designed ‘A10’ chips for ‘iPhone 7’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

The iPhone 6s featuring Apple's in-house designed 'A9’ microchip is yet to start shipping but the firm's already commissioned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build a next-generation 'A10’ package expected to power 2016 iOS devices like an 'iPhone 7,’ third-generation iPad Air and second-generation iPad Pro, according to supply chain chatter Monday.