tsmc

For years now, we've seen Apple attempt to move away from Qualcomm by producing its own computing components in-house. However, one component that still ties Apple to Qualcomm is a big one in the mobile world: modems. While Apple's iPhones use the company's own System-on-chip (SoC) (or as Apple calls them, "Chips"), Apple is still using Qualcomm-made modems in its phones, but that's something that could change in 2023 thanks to a new team-up with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

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With Google jumping on the mobile chipset bandwagon and OPPO reportedly following closely, Qualcomm is probably feeling some heat as new challengers try to infringe on its territory. Of course, the tech company has already been unseated for a few consecutive quarters by MediaTek, and the latter might be poised to make its biggest attempt yet. Early information about its upcoming Dimensity 2000 5G processor is starting to sound promising and, at the very least, could give the Snapdragon 888 some stiff competition next year.

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Chip manufacturers all around the world are struggling to increase production to meet demand. Chip shortages are impacting all sorts of industries, including automotive and electronics manufacturers. TSMC, the largest chipmaker in the world, and Sony are considering building a jointly operated chip factory in Japan. Reports indicate that the Japanese government is also considering investing a massive amount of money into the joint venture.

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There was a time when smartphone prices were getting ridiculously high, and there didn't seem to be any stopping that trend. Market dynamics and global events like the COVID-19 pandemic, however, did at least put a pause on it or made more affordable but still capable phones more enticing to consumers. Unfortunately, another worldwide situation is causing havoc in multiple industries with rippling effects on product prices. One such unfavorable effect will be a foreseeable increase in smartphone prices next year now that TSMC, the world's biggest semiconductor foundry, has announced its biggest price hike in a decade.

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Chipmaker TSMC reportedly notified partners they'll be raising prices for hardware this year. As has been the case with several major hardware manufacturers over the past year, price hikes are coming to chipmakers in a significant way. The biggest client of the chipmaker TSMC is Apple, and the first product that'll likely see a change in cost is the iPhone 13.

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Smartphones and laptops are getting more powerful every year, but those improvements do carry some costs, like power consumption and thermal output. It isn't enough to just cram in more battery or add cooling fans inside, and some strategies to counter those side effects involve shrinking down components. Processors, for example, grow increasingly smaller to squeeze out more performance and energy efficiency. That is pretty much the expectation for Apple's next iPhones and late 2022 Macs as it jumps from its current 5nm chips to a tinier 3nm process.

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Apple and Intel could launch chips based on cutting-edge 3-nanometer production as soon as 2022, industry sources claim, with both companies said to have jumped on TSMC's next-gen processes. Though it'll be some time before 3nm is the standard for processors, the promise is a cut in power consumption while at the same time boosting performance.

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A report is making the rounds that claims Apple is partnering with TSMC to develop micro- OLED displays specifically to be used in upcoming augmented reality devices. Apple currently works with TSMC on multiple fronts. Specifically, TSMC is the sole supplier of processors for the iPhone.

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Apple Silicon MacBooks are only the first MacOS computers to roll with the company's own-designed processors. Tips from supply chain sources this week suggest Apple is hard at work on its first desktop computer processor as well. This could change the way MacOS computers work (and play). Will this change your plans to buy a new computer in the near future?

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In an unprecedented move by one of the largest chipmakers in the world, a report suggests Intel's ordered work done by TSMC. Last week's Intel earnings call (July 23, 2020) had CEO Bob Swan mention they'd "invested in contingency plans to hedge against further schedule uncertainty," and that this could mean working with "somebody else's foundry" to manufacture hardware.

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The US might be singling out Huawei in its spat with China but the world's second-biggest phone maker isn't the only one that is being affected by it. In light of the US Commerce Department's new trade rules, companies that export products or provide services to Huawei are now uncertain whether they will be able to keep the Chinese manufacturer as a lucrative customer. One of the biggest of those is semiconductor maker TSMC, though the Taiwan-based foundry seems not to be that worried even if it loses Huawei.

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Apple's 5G iPhone plans include three models for 2020, all with 5G and all using a new, 5nm processor, insiders familiar with the Cupertino company's big plans for next year suggest. The smartphone maker has been widely expected to enter the 5G market in 2020, holding off from following Android OEMs in launching this year for reasons both tactical and practical.

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