TSMC Looks to Establish 10nm Pilot Line Ahead of iPhone 7 Launch Next Year

According to supply chain rumors in Taiwan, chipmaker TSMC, which already produces some A-processor chips for iPhones, is looking to establish a 10nm pilot line by next month. The 10nm production could be expanded to the A10 chip that would eventually go in the iPhone 7 and other future iOS devices.

The report claims that TSMC will establish this 10nm pilot line in 12 factories located in Hsinchu. Sources say that TSMC would be ready to sign up with potential clients (in this case Apple) by the end of the year. Industry analysts believe that TSMC's 10nm chip production factories will be crucial for securing orders for Apple's A10 processor.

While rumors of Apple's A10 chip production have already started, Apple's A9 chip, presumably what will power the iPhone 6s, still has yet to launch. It was initially reported that TSMC and Samsung would share orders for the 14nm A9 chip; however, a recent report indicated that Samsung had won the orders because TSMC could not shrink the size of the transistors to 14nm.


It seems that TSMC does not want to make the same mistake as it did with the A9 chip and is already prepping a 10nm manufacturing process for (what it hopes will be) iPhone 7 orders.

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