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Apr 12, 2001
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has landed the contract to produce Apple's A8X chip that will be featured in the company's forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad, according to Digitimes. The report notes that the processors will be intended for "Apple's next-generation iPad to be released in early 2015," and lines up with a report earlier year from Taiwan's TechNews which shared similar details.

logicboarda8x.jpg
Apple's A8X chip as seen on a supposed logic board for the iPad Air 2​

Sources close to the production of the A8X also state that the chip is being manufactured with the same 20-nanometer process used for the A8 chip that is found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, the report also notes that the A8X's bigger system-on-a-chip may create potential yield rate issues for TSMC.

Recent part leaks have indicated that the A8X chip will likely debut with the iPad Air 2, which is expected to be unveiled alongside the next-generation Retina iPad mini at an event this Thursday.

It is unknown as to whether the company will also unveil the 12.9-inch iPad at the event, however the The Wall Street Journal noted that Apple was delaying mass production of the 12.9-inch iPad to deal with strong iPhone 6 Plus demand. A report from Bloomberg in August also claimed that the 12.9-inch iPad would be launching in 2015.

Update: While the report was presumed to be referring to the rumored 12.9-inch iPad based on the expectation the device will be "released in early 2015", it is possible it could actually be referring to the second-generation iPad Air, which is all but confirmed to be unveiled tomorrow and has already been seen to carry the A8X chip in leaked logic board photos.

Article Link: TSMC Reportedly in Charge of A8X Chip Production for 12.9-Inch iPad [Updated]
 
i really hope they are planning some big changes to iOS to make better use of the big screen...
 
Can't they ever release anything in time for Christmas? Or at least the fiscal year?

Santa could be hauling sleighloads of these things!
 
I think A8X is just for the 12.9 ipad plus/pro and they will introduce it with limited availability just like the 5.5 iPhone.
 
i really hope they are planning some big changes to iOS to make better use of the big screen...

I totally agree. I also wish I could use my iPad to download and store whatever files I want, or even be able to FTP any kind of files to my website directly from iOS.

Those are mainly the things I see that my friend's Samsung tablet does very conveniently. He downloads torrents and all.
 
I totally agree. I also wish I could use my iPad to download and store whatever files I want, or even be able to FTP any kind of files to my website directly from iOS.

Those are mainly the things I see that my friend's Samsung tablet does very conveniently. He downloads torrents and all.

Sounds like you should look into jailbreaking :p
 
Anyone know if you could throw dual ARM processors in a machine for twice the power? If so, they should do it for the 12.9 iPad to set it apart.

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inb4 13 inch iPad doesn't exist.

The iPad Pro and MBA are the same device!!! Hybrid!!!

:rolleyes:
 
I'm looking forward to seeing 9 icon folders on the 12.9 inch iPad!
 
Personally who ever produces the chips doesn't really affect me in the slightest, but my inner irrational fanboy is happy that it's not Samsung haha :cool:
 
"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has landed the contract to produce Apple's A8X chip that will be featured in the company's forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad"

Starting the article like this seems totaly sensationalist. I understand that it then goes on to say according to a source, but writing like this is over the top. I think people need to learn what the word "will" means.
 
LOL Digitimes :rolleyes:

I wish MacRumors would add tags with the source of each rumor, so with one click we would be able to see all rumors from a given source and thus easily appraise its credibility (or lack of).
 
I totally agree. I also wish I could use my iPad to download and store whatever files I want, or even be able to FTP any kind of files to my website directly from iOS.

Those are mainly the things I see that my friend's Samsung tablet does very conveniently. He downloads torrents and all.

You can now; ftp, sftp, webdav.. it's called Transmit in the iOS App store.. They've been around fooooreeeever.. on Mac and iOS ... Yup, you sure know your stuff! That hole research thing really shows... :eek:

http://panic.com/transmit-ios/

No Jailbreaking required.
 
Can't they ever release anything in time for Christmas? Or at least the fiscal year?

They released the iPhone 6/6+ in time for Christmas (as usual). They are likely going to release new iPad models (as usual), a new iMac and potentially a new Mac Mini in time for Christmas. That doesn't count as "anything"?

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I totally agree. I also wish I could use my iPad to download and store whatever files I want, or even be able to FTP any kind of files to my website directly from iOS.

Yes, being able to download files to a device that the device can't actually use is a highly critical use case.

99.99% of users don't need this and don't need to FTP files to their website. As Apple rarely caters to niche applications, I doubt we will be seeing this functionality in iOS anytime soon.
 
You can now; ftp, sftp, webdav.. it's called Transmit in the iOS App store.. They've been around fooooreeeever.. on Mac and iOS ... Yup, you sure know your stuff! That hole research thing really shows... :eek:

http://panic.com/transmit-ios/

No Jailbreaking required.

It is mentioned right there in their website that this was just possible since iOS 8.

"To be honest, we’d always resisted the idea of bringing Transmit to iOS. In a brave new world where apps could only see their own files, it just didn’t make sense to us.

Then, Apple announced iOS 8.

The first cool new thing: in iOS 8, the system Share sheet can be extended by apps. So when viewing a photo, if you hit the Share button, you’ll see a brand-new choice: Transmit. That photo can be instantly sent to your own private file server, website, or S3 bucket.

Second, iOS 8 adds an extensible Document Picker, enabling Transmit to extend the open & save capabilities of other apps. That lets you open files directly off servers for editing. And when you save, changes go back to your server, too. It’s seamless. Third-party apps will be upgraded to support this soon.

In short, it’s time for Transmit iOS.

Besides extending parts of iOS 8, Transmit is a powerful standalone app as well. Launch it and you get a beautiful, fast, full-featured file manager. Upload and download files. Rename. Make folders. Change permissions. Edit. Preview. It’s all in there, and just as smooth as ever."

And that still doesn't solve all that I mentioned. Plus what is the need to launch sarcastic attacks? When did I say I made a full research?

I simply don't get it why so many people here are just ready to attack other users, do you feel better about yourself insulting people over the Internet or what's the deal?

I've been using Panic's desktop FTP for a while and it is nice to see them bringing it to iOS, it would have been very nice of you to just share the link, there was no need for your sarcasm, but thanks anyway.
 
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