Report: TSMC to Receive All Orders for iPhone Processors

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TSMC will reportedly be contracted to manufacture all of the application processors required for the upcoming iPhone and has ambitiously expanded its fabrication facilities to meet this demand.

According to “industry sources,” Apple is planning to contract the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to manufacture all the application processors (AP) for the 2014 model of the iPhone that will reportedly be launched as early as 2H 2013.

Presumably to satisfy the “huge demand” from Apple, TSMC has begun the equipment move-in for its capable Fab 14, Phase 5 facility in Southern Taiwan. The Phase 5 facility is TSMC’s second 20 nm fabrication plant and will be ready for volume production by the end of this year.

DigiTimes’ sources further added that ,while Samsung will manufacture chips for the upcoming iPhone, the rapid expansion of TSMC’s manufacturing capabilities (the company broke ground for the Phase 5 facility in April 2012) indicates that Apple is significantly accelerating its plans to reduce its dependence on Samsung.

Tarun Iyer
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • JAYDEEJOHN
    This appears to be on schedule, TSMC has been doing well of late
    Reply
  • TheBigTroll
    i think apple got fed up with samsung jacking up the chip prices by 20% last year
    Reply
  • sonofliberty08
    good for TSMC, better than samsung
    Reply
  • silverblue
    TheBigTroll
    Oh, so after Apple's attempts to pretty much destroy Samsung Electronics, the latter isn't in any way justified in a price hike? It's not as if Apple cannot afford it, and even with a move to TSMC, does Apple expect a trouble-free transition? TSMC had major issues with both 40nm and 28nm nodes to begin with.
    Reply
  • JAYDEEJOHN
    On 28nm, ramp was slower than hoped, and this simply wont happen here, as capacity has increased with the 20nm node, and other customers will most likely be held off to make sure Apple is satisfied first, til ramp is going good.
    Other customers have already made statements of when, or costs, about newer nodes, so waiting for a better yield reduces costs, as the process is more mature, and you end up with more di per wafer, as well as waiting since the benefits of going early dont always pay off because of the above scenario.
    This wont stop Apple however, and Im fairly certain, TSMCs contract with Apple are writ in stone
    Reply
  • Cazalan
    That's pretty much the worst news for any PC enthusiasts.
    This will delay NVidia and AMD 20nm products further.
    Reply
  • dark_knight33
    TSMC is opening a second fab just for this. I don't think it will affect Nvidia and AMD beyond simply not getting increased supply.
    Also, new fabs require shakedown periods. I expect the yields will be pretty poor, and even with Samsung's deserved price hike it will cut into Apple's bottom line to move to TSMC. Apple under Jobs acted like a class A jerk to the rest of the tehc industry. If Tim Cook could just pull back on the all the bullshit caused by Job's titanic ego, Apple would probably have the room it needed to develop interesting products again.
    Reply
  • silverblue
    LOL at the trolls. My post was at +5 yesterday... but if that's really all you can do to prove a worthless point...
    Reply
  • Non-Euclidean
    10762560 said:
    i think apple got fed up with samsung jacking up the chip prices by 20% last year

    Right, and Samsung didnt have the right to get fed up with Apple's groundless lawsuits?

    Reply