Samsung to Begin Work on Apple's 14-nm A9 Chips Before End of 2014

[MacRumors]

Samsung semiconductor head Kim Ki-nam today announced that the company will begin work on 14-nanometer processors for partners such as Apple, Qualcomm, and AMD before the end of 2014, reports ZDNet (via 9to5Mac).

The comments indicate that Samsung will produce Apple's next-generation A9 chip to be used in next year's line of iPhones and iPads. Currently, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus use the 20-nanometer A8 processor. It is also likely that the forthcoming iPad Air 2 and second-generation Retina iPad mini will utilize Apple's A8 chip.

The report also states that Samsung is producing around 30% of the total volume of Apple's A8 chip, while TSMC is handling 70% of the production load. Teardowns of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus revealed A8 chips that were manufactured by TSMC, although it is possible that a select number of shipped devices contain chips produced by Samsung.

Last year, it was reported that Apple signed a contract with Samsung to handle 30% to 40% of total A9 chip production, while TSMC would be getting the rest of the production load. A report from August stated that TSMC was ahead of schedule with its new 16-nanometer process, which was said to be for Apple's A9 chip. However, these latest comments from Ki-nam may indicate that Korean company has already won the bid to produce the A9 with its upcoming 14-nanometer process over TSMC's proposal.

Article Link: Samsung to Begin Work on Apple's 14-nm A9 Chips Before End of 2014

 

[farewelwilliams]

50% more power efficient which means...AN EVEN THINNER PHONE.

 

[SilianRail]

Where can I trade in my iPhone 6?

 

[diddl14]

Why not do a Microsoft and call it A10?

 

[cdmoore74]

50% more power efficient which means...AN EVEN THINNER PHONE.

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

 

[Keniutek]

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

This x 1000000. Make a small phone with a big screen... thicker than a sheet of paper please.

 

[osofast240sx]

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

Thinner drives innovation.

 

[potatis]

I, for one, welcome our new north korean cpu overlords. Looking forward to credit card thin phones.

 

[spinedoc77]

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

Tell me about it. The beauty of the ip6 being thin is totally marred by those god awful 2010 bezels. I'm a huge proponent of thin, but I think we've reached a point where we don't need thinner, we need smaller form factor versus screen size.

 

[GenesisST]

Thinner drives innovation.

So would narrower and shorter for the same screen size

 

[BvizioN]

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

It will happen eventually when they figure a better way of implementing touch ID.
Regarding thin devices, it's inevitable and I think they will get thinner. Usually electronic devices are thick due to technology limitations.

 

[mainstreetmark]

I wonder how many of you all complaining about thinness, as if it's a negative, have ever had to carry around a flip phone or a treo. Those things were simply uncomfortable to carry around. The iPhone 1 changed all that for the better, and the trend is merely continuing.

Perhaps put a case on it, if it's so troubling.

 

[Dilster3k]

Progression is going insanely fast. I wonder what we'll be seeing in a decade from now.

 

[RightMACatU]

SAMSUNG: Let's pull a Microsoft and go directly to A10

 

[luckydcxx]

Keep it the same thickness or even go as thick at the 5/5s and give me 2 days of battery!

 

[yegon]

How long before we see ludicrous "New iPhone in Spring" click bait?

 

[Inframan]

While their at it maybe take some tips on structural efficiently from samsung too...DOH! My iPhone 6 plus just gave me the stink eye. #lovemy6plus

 

[Switchback666]

Keep it the same thickness or even go as thick at the 5/5s and give me 2 days of battery!

Well hopefully when the iPhone 7 drops they figure out the protruding camera, they def not going back 5/5s thick.

The biggest challenge is getting rid of the home button and implement touch id on the screen itself, i saw comments about the finger print Samsung use on their phones and it seem that part of the reader is in the lower part of the screen so whe might see something like this first on Samsung products.

 

[OatmealRocks]

I really hope they don't go any thinner. This nonsense of making something super thin is driving me crazy. How about working on those fat bezels?

It is a CPU with real benefits and it is not nonsense. Geez.

 

[lincolntran]

I rather have a 16nm cpu that is manufactured not by samsung

 

[Crocodoc]

Looks up from his Tegra K1 tablet.

Is Apple going to enable the software to allow us to actually take advantage of this thing? No? OK

I rather have a 16nm cpu that is manufactured not by samsung

Why? It's only samsung.

 

[Oohara]

I, for one, welcome our new north korean cpu overlords. Looking forward to credit card thin phones.

Then we can stick them in the Note gap and have the perfect combo phone finally!!

 

[Alphabetize]

Wonder when we will see phones that have CPU's as powerful as MacBooks.

If only there were some app I could actually put all that power to use!

 

[anova]

whats wrong with 5/5s thickness? jesus, do all you people have carny hands? i'm 6'5 with big mits and these little phones are driving me nuts

 

[blackcrayon]

Looks up from his Tegra K1 tablet.

Is Apple going to enable the software to allow us to actually take advantage of this thing? No? OK

What does that mean? What enabling does Apple need to do?

Anyway, Apple is clearly developing technologies specifically for taking advantage of "this thing" - like Metal.