14 DAY TRIAL // Engaged in a fierce battle to win Apple’s heart, TSMC and Samsung are embroiled in an arms race to produce the most chips for the next iPhone. As it stands, Samsung has convinced the Cupertino giant that its 14-nanometer process is the way to go.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may be the biggest contract chip maker in the world, but that’s not enough to get Apple’s attention. The iPhone maker demands massive amounts of chips each quarter, high-quality yields, and long-term dependability.
Samsung has been able to satisfy these demands for all but one iPhone generation - the iPhone 6 - whose A8 chip was (and still is) manufactured by TSMC. But Samsung got its game back on really quick, and reportedly convinced Apple that it would offer it a 14-nanometer A9 this year. TSMC currently builds on a 20-nanometer scale.
To counter Samsung’s moves, TSMC plans to spend a whopping $12 billion (€10.56 billion) on new equipment, to win back Apple as a client, according to Bloomberg.
The A10 destined for iPhone 7
With Samsung apparently having won the bulk of orders for the A9 chip slated to make its way into this year’s iPhone 6S, TSMC will be left struggling to convince Apple that its up-and-coming fabs will produce even better A10 chips for the iPhone 7 next year.
If history is any indication, Apple will never fully rely on a single supplier, even when one of them scores what appears to be the entirety of orders. Whenever yield rates don’t meet Apple’s requirements, a second supplier is usually hired to make up for the loss.
One thing is for sure, though: whatever rivalry there may be between Apple and Samsung in the mobile space, their relationship remains strong thanks to the A-series application processors that power iPhones and iPads.