Three Companies to Share Packaging Orders for Apple's Next-Generation A8 Chip

[MacRumors]

Semiconductor companies Amkor Technology and STATS ChipPAC will each handle 40% of the packaging orders placed by Apple for its upcoming A8 processor, while Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) will obtain the remaining 20% of the orders, according to a new report from DigiTimes.

Apple's A8 chip will be a package-on-package (PoP) SoC solution comprising processors and mobile DRAM in a single package, said the sources.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is also believed to have secured wafer-bumping orders for the processor, and will reportedly start ramping up production of the A8 chip using 20nm process technology in the second quarter of 2014, with the processor widely expected to be used in Apple's next-generation iPhone.

According to a report in September, it is also expected that Samsung will assist with production of A8 chip, with the Korean company expected to handle 20% to 30% of the manufacturing load.

Overall, production plans for the iPhone 6 seem to be gearing up, with a report earlier this month stating that TSMC would be producing fingerprint sensors for the next-generation iPhone using a larger 12-inch fab from the current 8-inch fab to increase production efficiency. It was also stated that TSMC would handle the packaging process for the sensors itself rather than contracting out to other firms in order to centralize control over the component.

Article Link: Three Companies to Share Packaging Orders for Apple's Next-Generation A8 Chip

 

[mdridwan47]

Will this be a quad core chip ?

 

[gto55]

how about Apple to invest in a company working on batteries researches, in order to get rid of the battery cases which are almost indispensable with the iPhone

 

[M-O]

Will this be a quad core chip ?

who cares?

----------

how about Apple to invest in a company working on batteries researches, in order to get rid of the battery cases which are almost indispensable with the iPhone

i've never had one, nor see them in the wild. i think this is a issue for a small percentage of users.

 

[k1121j]

Non Issue

how about Apple to invest in a company working on batteries researches, in order to get rid of the battery cases which are almost indispensable with the iPhone

non issue

 

[wizard]

Will this be a quad core chip ?

Good question!

I suspect that Apple will focus on GPU integration, they have hired many AMD engineers with the A series being the only obvious use for their talents. As such I wouldn't be surprise to see support for HSA.

The really question is what is the best use of chip real estate if you double that area. I can see the GPU being real important along with added features and support for that GPU. Support could be a real large L2 cache or dedicated frame buffer memory. As for the CPUs Apple could just double clock rate for another big performance jump. Quad CPUs while nice aren't required.

 

[rmatthewware]

who cares?

----------



i've never had one, nor see them in the wild. i think this is a issue for a small percentage of users.

My battery case begs to differ.

 

[Menel]

Will this be a quad core chip ?

I hope not!

 

[Jimmy James]

My battery case begs to differ.

Your small percentage agrees.

 

[rtr1985]

2/3 of MacRumor buyers will exchange their device in an effort to obtain an A8 from the non-defective manufacturer

 

[Pakaku]

My battery case begs to differ.

Turn off your 3G/4G and stuff when you're not using it.

 

[Nevaborn]

how about Apple to invest in a company working on batteries researches, in order to get rid of the battery cases which are almost indispensable with the iPhone

they serve a purpose but have only seen one in the wild and I only saw it once as it added huge bulk and weight for what it really offered. I prefer wallet cases and really want Apple to get on board and do one.

2/3 of MacRumor buyers will exchange their device in an effort to obtain an A8 from the non-defective manufacturer

the trick will be knowing how to tell which comes from which manufacturer. I guess it is really just a case of lucking out. When I bought my iPhone 4 I never even thought that it might be horribly defective and need swapping out several times but with the 6 I am already expecting it which is kind of sad.

 

[Avieshek]

(Look at the pointless questions people ask or more of an argument.)

So, DDR4?

 

[M-O]

My battery case begs to differ.

hello there, edge case.

 

[PrimozR]

So... 40 % from one, 40% from the other and 20 % from another manufacturer, while TSMC will also help and Samsung is expected to make 20 to 30 % of the chips. I thought percentegas in cases like these should add up to (or at least close to) 100 %, not 150 %.

 

[Menel]

So... 40 % from one, 40% from the other and 20 % from another manufacturer, while TSMC will also help and Samsung is expected to make 20 to 30 % of the chips. I thought percentegas in cases like these should add up to (or at least close to) 100 %, not 150 %.

Article said 40/40/20 is for 'packaging'.

Never heard of these companies for foundries, doubt they have 20nm capability. That will still be Samsung/TSMC's role.

 

[SAIRUS]

Can those 64 bit processors get a little more memory?

 

[rmatthewware]

Turn off your 3G/4G and stuff when you're not using it.

Why the hell would I turn off a feature I'm using? Should I power down the phone when I'm not making calls?

----------

Your small percentage agrees.

How did you measure the percentage of people who use battery cases? Did you conduct a survey or check sales numbers at major battery case makers?

 

[Pakaku]

Why the hell would I turn off a feature I'm using? Should I power down the phone when I'm not making calls?

So you are always on 3G? Sucks to be you, then.

In other cases, it's more than easy enough to toggle it on and off.

 

[rmatthewware]

So you are always on 3G? Sucks to be you, then.

In other cases, it's more than easy enough to toggle it on and off.

I'm not arguing how easy it is or isn't. I paid for an LTE device so I'm going to use it when I can. The few times it's not available I use 4G. I think it's a valid desire to want better battery life from the iPhone without having to turn off half the device.