Chinese newspaper says the company will employ a 20-nm process

Apr 3, 2013 13:10 GMT  ·  By

Apple has finally made up its mind in regard to who will handle the chip production for its iPhone 6. The A7 chip, as it is believed the SoC will be called, is reportedly going to be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Japan’s Macotakara takes it upon itself to convey a rumor stemming from Economic Daily News, a Chinese newspaper with ties to the electronics industry and, in particular, some of Apple’s suppliers.

A rough translation of the Japanese blog entry reads: “Economic Daily News has told the management of Samsung that it seems that the observation that the order received which TSMC manufactures in a 20-nm process was gained about "A7" processor carried in ‘iPhone 6’ in which Apple plans the injection in 2014 is strengthened.”

Here, on the Mac news section of Softpedia, we know less Japanese than Google Translate, so what you see is what you get.

But we’re left to understand that Samsung is being phased out as the A-series chip supplier at least in the iPhone 6.

“It seems that the processor production contract of Apple and Samsung became a contract piece in June, 2013, and it is expected that a new contract exchanges with TSMC,” the machine-translated report adds.

Samsung may still have a contract with Apple to keep producing older chips, such as the A5, the A6, and even the A6X, the latest version of the custom silicon which Apple uses in the fourth-generation iPad.

To be noted that Apple’s rumored deal with TSMC won’t come to fruition until next year, when the iPhone 6 is expected to arrive.

Most knowledgeable people agree that Apple will once again push out an “S” iteration of its current iPhone this year, boasting a faster chip, improved cameras, and even fingerprint recognition technology.