TSMC has started production of new soc for next iPhone

Chip manufacturer TSMC has started production of the new A13 processor for the next generation of iPhones, which will be released later this year. This reports financial news agency Bloomberg based on anonymous sources.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC for short, is said to have started testing production of the A13 processor in April. The mass production of the new iPhone soc will start this month, according to the sources on which Bloomberg is relying. Apple and TSMC declined to comment.

According to Bloomberg, the A13-soc is intended for all three new models that will follow the current iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr. The two new flagships would go through life under the code names D43 and D44, the successor to the Xr was reportedly codenamed N104.

Apple usually introduces its new iPhones sometime in September. The current generation of iPhones is powered by an A12 Bionic soc. That processor also comes from the TSMC factory, but is designed by Apple itself.

According to Bloomberg, Apple wants to develop even more components itself in the coming years. The company would, among other things, work on a modem chip for the iPhone and its own processor for the Mac computers, which may eventually replace Intel’s chips.