TSMC Begins Apples A8 Chip Production for iPhone 6

Last week a report from Taiwans Commercial Times picked up by AFP claimed that Apple new chip partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun production on the next-generation A8 chip destined for the iPhone 6 later this year.

The worlds leading contract microchip maker last month started producing the A8 chip, which is tipped to power the expected iPhone 6, the Commercial Times reported.

The report, which cited supply chain sources, said TSMC had won most of the manufacturing orders for logic and power management integrated chips for the new handset.

The Apple A8 will reportedly be manufactured using the 20 nanometer and will include a quad-core 64-bit processor, also quad core graphics. An earlier start to chips production could give Apple the flexibility to comfortably launch the new iPhone in the third quarter of this year contrary to the previous years.

Usually in the past Samsung is the sole Apples manufacturing partner for A-series chips, but Apple has long been reported to be trying to shift orders to TSMC. After years of rumors, Apple and TSMC reportedly struck a deal in mid-2013 to begin chip production in early 2014. It was initially claimed that the A8 will be manufactured by both Samsung and TSMC, but Samsung is now said to have dropped out due to low yields. Analysts from the Citigroup Global Markets, Apple is expected to ship close to 90 million units of the iPhone 6.

• read also: Inside Apples A7 Chip, M7 Motion Coprocessor, and More from the iPhone 5s

Source: Ctee via MacRumors