It’s been rumored for years that chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, (TSMC), would begin producing A-Series chips for use in Apple’s popular iOS devices. Now, a new report from the Wall Street Journal says that time has come, and the chips are finally making their way to assembly plants.
The Journal reports that TSMC started production on the 20-nanometer chips during the first quarter of 2014. Shipments began in the second quarter.
Apple has reportedly been working to wean itself from frenemy Samsung as a supplier, but until now the South Korean firm has been the major supplier of Apple’s A-Series processors. While Samsung will remain one of the Cupertino firm’s top suppliers for now, they will be splitting processor orders with TSMC for the near future.
Rumors that TSMC had begun fabricating the “A8” chips Apple will use in its next-generation iPhones and iPads surfaced in March. The new chips are thought to be quad-core models, double the amount of processing cores found in the current A7 chip.
While this is the first time any TSMC-built A-Series chips will power Apple’s devices, the company does manufacture other custom silicon for Apple, including the Touch ID sensors that debuted in the iPhone 5s.
(Via AppleInsider)
