Samsung this week said it intends to spend $116 billion by 2030 in order to beat the likes of Intel, Qualcomm, and TSMC for a lead role in logic chip manufacturing.
Apple chip partner TSMC has fallen short of earnings expectations because of the global smartphone market slowdown — but the worst appears to be over.
Following its work on a 7-nanometer chip production process, TSMC has revealed it has created a 6-nanometer version that has the potential to be ready for mass production in time to make Apple-designed A-series chips destined for the 2020 iPhones.
Apple's "A13" processor will use a 7-nanometer process for its production, but chip foundry TSMC is reportedly planning to use a different enhanced process to the current version it has come up with, named "N7 Pro."
TSMC has completed its design infrastructure for creating chips using a 5-nanometer process, a major step that could enable future Apple designs of its A-series processors to shift to a smaller die than the current 7-nanometer production process, and faster than it has made the shift before.
Apple's A-series processor manufacturer, TSMC, may see its 7-nanometer chip capacity pushed to the absolute limit in preparation for 2019 iPhones, a report claimed on Thursday.
A number of Apple suppliers such as Largan and TSMC are diversifying orders amid declining iPhone sales, a supply chain report claimed on Monday.
TSMC is expected to further reduce the die size for the 2020 iPhone, and is expected to provide a 5nm "A14" system-on-a-chip for Apple.
Apple chip partner TSMC has issued a warning on its financial situation, advising of reduced revenue growth and plans to cut its investments as the company combats the global smartphone market slowdown that has affected many other device producers.
TSMC and Foxconn, two of Apple's major iPhone production partners, have reported street-beating revenue for November, casting some doubt on supply chain reports suggesting component suppliers are struggling following iPhone production cuts.
Companies within the iPhone supply chain are apparently feeling the effects of Apple's alleged order cuts to varying degrees, as while some firms have revised their revenue estimates downwards, others like TSMC are said to avoid any major financial issues from the reductions.
Taiwan-based chip manufacturer TSMC is predicting modest growth in the new quarter, suggesting that production of smartphone chips — particularly for Apple's iPhone — will offset not just weakness in cryptocurrency mining, but risks caused by the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.
Following Apple's A12 Bionic powering iPhone XS and iPhone XR models, Huawei has released its own custom 7nm ARM System on a Chip. But despite using the same fab process, Huawei's Kirin 980-powered Mate 20 Pro flagship lags far behind Apple's iPhone XS A12, turning in performance scores well below last year's A11 iPhone X.
Parts of the supply chain are tempering their expectations on iPhone sales for the remainder of 2018, a report claims, with weak sales said to be feared by suppliers based in Taiwan, despite the impending launch of the iPhone XR.
TSMC will continue to be the only supplier of Apple's A-series chips in 2019, according to a report, with the iPhone component supplier believed to secure orders for next year's "A13" chip following its success with this year's A12 production.
Huawei may be the second smartphone producer to use processors made using a 7-nanometer process, following Apple's use of the A12 chip in the iPhone XS, with the designed-in-house Kirin 980 processor thought to be using the same production process as Apple.
Intel is reportedly outsourcing some of its 14-nanometer chip production to Apple's iPhone and iPad chip manufacturer because of high demand, as it continues to have problems shifting to 10nm fabrication.
In the short term at least, Apple's 2018 iPhones are liable to be the only smartphones with 7-nanometer processors, a report suggested on Tuesday.
Apple chip producer TSMC and assembly partner Foxconn are expected to announce record revenue figures in its fourth quarter financial report later this year, after a report claims shipments of the next generation of iPhones will be the best since the launch of the iPhone 6.
California chip firm announces a halt to its development of 7-nanometer fabrication technology, leaving Apple partner TSMC and rival Samsung as the only remaining players in the space.
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