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.
Apple has given the green-light to production of its next-generation chip, insiders claim, set to power the 2019 iPhone range which will pack even more cameras than today. The Apple A13 will be the successor to the A12 Bionic, announced in 2018, which is found in the current iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Apple's 2020 iPhone could make a significant architecture change inside, adopting 5nm chips for the first time as the Cupertino firm refines its iOS platform. The current iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max use Apple's A12 Bionic processor, which is built on a 7 nanometer process.
Manufacturer TSMC sent a statement that outlined a chemical issue which will have an impact on production this quarter. TSMC suggested that they'd "discovered a shipment of chemical material used in the manufacturing process that deviated from the specification and will impact wafer yield." The report does not name Apple as a key partner in the site at which the chemical issue took place. Manufacturing at the specified plant currently generally focus on NVIDIA, MediaTek, and Huawei hardware components.
If this all sounds like deja vu, you might have been closely monitoring reports on iPhone X sales last year. Apple’s most daring iPhone, it has been reported as both failing and succeeding as far as sales go. This year’s iPhone XS, XS Max, and especially the XR are similarly getting conflicting reports, most of on the disappointing side of the scale. But while reports of Apple cutting back on production due to weaker than expected demand for the phones, two of its biggest suppliers seem to be proving otherwise.
Some of the biggest tech product companies in the world might be struggling with constrained supplies of processor chips in the weeks to come. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the largest chip manufacturer in the world, was revealed to have been hit with a computer virus on Friday, resulting in temporary closure of several production factories and disruption of operations.
Apple's efforts to commercialize MicroLED panels could hit stores from 2019, a new report claims, with the firm targeting displays for an upscale Apple Watch, AR glasses, and larger products like MacBooks. The new screen technology has distinct advantages over Apple's current LCD and OLED panels, including brighter screens, lower power consumption, and thinner assemblies.
Ever since Apple went into the business of making mobile processors for itself, it has adopted a sort of tick-tock rhythm like Intel. It announces a new AN process in a new iPhone to be followed by a new ANX chip for an iPad, specifically an iPad Pro. With the iPhone 8 and iPhone X running on a spanking new A11 Bionic processor, it’s expected that the next iPad Pro will have an A11X Bionic in turn. What wasn’t expected until now is just how powerful and how small it would be.
Foxconn chairman Terry Gou was tipped to host a visit from Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams in Taiwan later this week. Williams is reportedly visiting Taiwan for the 30th anniversary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), with an event taking place on October 23rd. It is likely Foxconn's assembly of the iPhone X and potential supply constraints will be on the table during the chat between the company executives.
When it comes to making the beating heart of the iPhone, competition between chip-makers is fierce, and 2018 looks set to be no different. Despite reports that Samsung will sneak back into the 2018 iPhone as the manufacturer of the Apple A12, there are now conflicting claims that, in reality, another Apple partner will get the coveted - and lucrative - spot. Chatter from Taipei suggests that it's in fact TSMC that will seal the deal.
Samsung will once again produce the processors Apple needs for the company's best selling product according to a report from Korea. This move would place Samsung's chipmaking factories back in line with iPhone hardware after losing their contract with Apple to TSMC in the year 2013. That was a chip contract loss for the history books.
Newer doesn’t always mean better, especially when it actually makes things worse. For all the benefits that the new 10 nm FinFET manufacturing process has for making silicon, it could put a dent in the schedule of smartphone makers in the long run. Sources are now reporting that the yields for 10 nm chips are lower than expected and it is causing smartphone manufacturers to delay shipments of their smartphones to late in the second quarter, perhaps even later.