Roger Fingas
Samsung is reportedly intensifying its investments into chip production, with an eye on once again manufacturing A-series processors for Apple starting in 2018.
The company will make "supplemental investments" into its 10-nanometer production lines in April, and build out 7-nanometer facilities in 2018, said South Korea's ET News. The 7-nanometer lines are allegedly meant to get a headstart on Apple's current A-series supplier, TSMC.
TSMC has largely controlled A-series manufacturing since the iPhone 6, though some production for the iPhone 6s was split with Samsung. This year's "iPhone 8" is expected to use a 10-nanometer "A11" chip, once again made exclusively by TSMC.
Apple is likely to be hesitant to turn to Samsung again unless it needs sheer scale to meet demand. The two companies are competitors in phones, tablets, wearables, and laptops, and Samsung's work on the iPhone 6s proved problematic, since its version of the A9 processor was accused of less battery life and more heat than one produced by TSMC.
TSMC is also forecast to enter mass production of 7-nanometer chips sometime in early 2018, possibly rendering Samsung's ambitions moot.
Samsung does supply displays to Apple however, and is believed to making the 5.8-inch OLED screen for the "iPhone 8." That device may also offer upgrades like wireless charging and 3D facial recognition, potentially costing over $1,000 — indeed, one rumor has referred to it as the "iPhone Edition," drawing parallels with the Apple Watch Edition, which is aimed at Apple's richest shoppers.
Mike Wuerthele
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16 Comments
Hello. Why Samsung for chip fabrication when TSMC is offering 10nm today and 7nm in near future ? And don't forget Intel wants to supply chips(modem) and fabricate A processors for Apple.
When will Apple stop giving the keys to the kingdom to Samsung?
All else being equal, clearly Apple will prefer TSMC over Samsung due to Samsung being a competitor.
But if Samsung can offer a better price and/or better performance, then Apple would be foolish not to go with Samsung. Because at the end of the day, it's about making the best product you can.
Apple's A12 will be produced in TSMC's 7nm process for sure.
We can discuss A13 in a year from now....
PS:
From the etnews article:
"Samsung Electronics’ goal is to finish investments for […] 7-nano production lines by […] second half of next year or early 2019 respectively.”
We frequently see incorrect reports that Samsung is about to win huge orders from Apple and those reports always seem to originate from South Korea. If this story originated from a different country, I might take it seriously, but coming from ET News, I'll take it with a pinch of salt considerably more than 10 nanometers across.