14 DAY TRIAL // The hit-and-miss DigiTimes is out with a new rumor today saying Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics are fighting to get new chip orders from Apple. Even Intel is jumping in, and rumor has it that it may secure as much as 10% of the A7 SoC production.
As usual, take such rumors with a fair dose of salt. Now, the Taiwanese trade publication reports that “Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung Electronics are reportedly competing for Apple's A7 processor orders.”
As far as Intel is concerned, it might obtain 10% of those orders in what would support Apple’s ongoing crusade against Samsung as the sole producer of its A-series chips powering the hot-selling iPhones and iPads.
TSMC will reportedly become Apple’s second largest supplier of A7 processors, which are destined for the next generation of iDevices. The kicker – “production is reportedly to begin in 2014,” reports DigiTimes.
In other words, the A7 is headed for the iPhone 6, not the iPad 5 and the iPhone 5S.
Samsung is reportedly still on track to receive 50% of the A7 processor orders, while TSMC will get 40%, and Intel the remaining 10%.
Apple this year is expected to unveil the following iDevices in this particular order, with these (rumored) specifications:
- iPad 5 in April packing a new SoC (system on a chip), a brand new design akin to the iPad mini, and different colors;
- iPad mini 2 in April (possibly at the same event as the iPad 5 launch) boasting a new processor, new color options, and a much-needed Retina display;
- iPhone 5S in summer (WWDC or the June-July timeframe) sporting yet another new processor, different color options, an identical design to the iPhone 5 and iOS 7 with several new enhancements.