Samsung Reportedly to Gain 70% of Apple's A9 Processor Orders
There's been a propaganda war going on over who will produce Apple's next generation processors. Every time that there's a report that TSMC will retain Apple's chip business, a counter report is soon to follow stating the contrary. In late December it was reported that GlobalFoundries was experiencing tooling delays. So today, to counter that report, magically Samsung will gain 70% of Apple's A9 business with GlobalFoundries only being used as Samsung's "backup fab." How convenient is a report like that to skirt the issues surrounding GlobalFoundries. Tailor made wouldn't you say? Nonetheless, the latest rumor gives Apple's business to Samsung until there's another one to contradict it.
The rumor de jour is that Samsung Electronics and GlobalFoundries have secured a combined 70% of orders for Apple's A9 processors with their 14nm FinFET technology, according to industry sources.
Samsung will be ready to produce 30,000-40,000 12-inch wafers monthly to meet demand on its 14nm process node, with the demand from both Apple and Samsung's own handset division, said the sources. Samsung will also be building its next-generation Exynos processor on its own 14nm process.
GlobalFoundries will be used as a backup fab by Samsung for the manufacture of Apple's 14nm A9 chips, with the availability of production capacity estimated at 20,000-30,000 wafers monthly, the sources indicated.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which fabricates all of Apple's A8 chips for the iPhone 6 devices, will take up the remaining 30% of orders for Apple's next-generation A9 chips with its 16nm FinFET process, the sources noted.
This recurring rumor war in the press over who is getting Apple's chip business is one of the most annoying in the industry. But that's life in rumor-land. Apple is pretty strict on what suppliers say in the press, officially or in magic rumors. I guess we'll know who won Apple's chip business once iFixit tears down Apple's next generation iPhones. Until then, expect the rumor war on this to continue.
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