‘Apple A10 soc is made by TSMC and will be more efficient than A9’
Apple would have chosen TSMC as producer of its next soc; the A10. That means, if the rumors are true, Samsung is behind the curve. The new soc should be more efficient, allowing it to be made smaller.
The rumors come from Taiwanese technology website Ctimes. According to the site, which relies on information from an analyst, Apple’s new soc no longer uses Samsung’s capabilities. Why the Korean manufacturer would have been pushed aside is not clear, but it may have something to do with the controversy that has arisen over the A9-soc for the iPhone 6s series, which is produced by both TSMC and Samsung.
According to Ctimes, the A10-soc is produced on the 16nm process and uses a TSMC-developed architecture that can ensure that it functions more efficiently than previous processor models. It concerns the so-called integrated fan-out wafer-level packaging technology, which works with 3D structures in chips to achieve higher efficiency. AMD, among others, already uses such production techniques for chips.
Said technology enables, among other things, better conductivity and better reception on mobile networks. There is also less heat development. Due to the improvement in efficiency, the soc can be made smaller and, for example, more space could be made in the housing for other parts.
Apple’s new soc is rumored to be released in the third quarter of next year, with mass production expected to begin in March. That makes it plausible that the A10 will be used in the next iPhone. There is still a lot to be done though: because the plans are still at a relatively early stage, it is possible that changes will still take place.
In the current iPhone 6s series, both models with a TSMC and a Samsung soc are supplied. Shortly after release, benchmarks emerged from which it could be concluded that the Samsung model performed worse and demanded more from the battery. Apple disputed the measurements and battery tests also do not unequivocally show that the Samsung soc performs worse.