Apple in 28nm A6X trial run with TSMC as Samsung faces chip contract loss

Apple's attempts to extricate itself from reliance on Samsung components continue, with titters from Taiwan that TSMC will begin trial production of the Apple A6X chip (found in the latest iPad with Retina) ahead of a bid for the next-gen A7 contract. The test will kick off in Q1 2013, The China Times reports, with TSMC producing a new, 28nm version of the existing 32nm A6X that Samsung has been producing for the full-sized iPad 4th-gen; the smaller chip, which will likely be more power efficient as well, will debut in a new iPad 5th-gen and iPad mini 2.