Not Samsung, but TSMC probably manufactures iPhone 6 processor

Apple will most likely not have the A8 soc for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus produced by Samsung, but by competitor TSMC. That is what Chipworks concludes. The A8-soc is smaller than its predecessor A7, but contains almost twice as many transistors.

There have been rumors for years about the switch that Apple would like to make from Samsung to TSMC, but each time it turned out to be incorrect during analyzes of the soc. Now that’s different: the soc has clear signs that TSMC manufactured it, Chipworks says.

Why that is is unknown: Samsung and TSMC have both started mass production of socs at 20nm in recent months. The A8 soc from the iPhone 6 has a die size that is 13 percent smaller than that of the predecessor A7 from last year’s iPhone 5s and iPads. This is partly because the soc is manufactured on a smaller process: where Samsung makes the A7 soc at 28nm, TSMC uses a 20nm process.

The GPU in the A8 is presumably an Imagination PowerVR GX6450, the successor to the GX6430 in the Apple A7. The manufacturer claims that the GPU is able to offer up to 50 percent better performance. The GPU is again a quadcore, says Chipworks.

Chipworks also found an envelope tracker in the A8, a piece of hardware that has been in many Android phones for a year. Normally, the amplifier that amplifies the mobile data signal has a constant voltage. It is then high enough to absorb peaks in the signal, but the voltage also remains high in situations where less amplification is required. Qualcomm likens it to someone who has a steady heart rate of 200 regardless of the level of exertion.

However, the QFE1100 looks at the strength of the source signal and adjusts the voltage of the amplifier accordingly so that it does not consume more current than necessary. According to Qualcomm, this results in up to thirty percent less heat and twenty percent less power consumption when using 3g and 4g. It is the first time that Apple uses that part in its device.

Update, 20:38: This article originally stated that Chipworks had found an MDM9235 modem chip, but that turned out to be incorrect. Chipworks uses that modem chip as a comparison to show that the A8 is made at 20nm, Geometry45nm noted.

That shot Apple A8. Illustration: Chipworks