Samsung
has been excluded from Apple's plans for its next generation A7 system on chip
expected to be released next year to power upcoming iOS devices. According to
the report, Apple is moving forward with plans to shift production to Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Other
sources report that Samsung is hoping its own handsets can fill the gap to be
left by Apple, as the firm has made significant investments in its processor
production facilities, but that some lines may have to be shut down. Samsung is
also seeking to increase its work producing graphics chips for NVIDIA. The
report follows similar claims from Taiwanese media last week, which indicated
that Apple and TSMC were pushing forward on a 20-nm A7 design for launch early
next year. Last month it was reported that Apple and TSMC had taped out a
design for the A7, although considerable work remains before the chip will
enter production.
Apple's
new 20 nm chip is expected to come out next year, and it appears that the
company's 2013 iOS device lineup will have to make use of other alternatives
such as a die shrink of the current A6 chip from 32-nm to 28-nm or a more
substantially reworked A6 chip. Apple could conceivably also have a new A7 chip
ready to go at 28-nm ahead of the move to the smaller and more efficient 20-nm
process node next.
0 comments:
Post a Comment