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TSMC Said to Begin Exclusive Production of A10 Chip for iPhone 7 in March 2016

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Less than a week after the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were announced, the overseas supply chain is reportedly already preparing for production and component certification ahead of the iPhone 7.

Taiwan-based China Times reports (via G4Games) that Apple supplier TSMC has secured exclusive orders for the A10 chip based on a 16-nanometer manufacturing process.

The report claims TSMC will begin mass production of the A10 chip in March 2016 ahead of the iPhone 7 launching in the fourth quarter. TSMC is also expected to start ordering more parts for the iPhone 7 in the second quarter of 2016.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are powered by Apple's new A9 chip, which is believed to be manufactured by both TSMC and Samsung, while the iPad Pro features a more powerful A9X processor.

The report adds that TSMC will continue producing the A8 chip, which is found inside the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, sixth-generation iPod touch and the new Apple TV launching in late October.

Article Link: TSMC Said to Begin Exclusive Production of A10 Chip for iPhone 7 in March 2016
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/14/tsmc-a10-chip-iphone-7-march-2016/
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I'm wondering where Apple has left to go at this point.

We'd been waiting for a bigger screen for a long time. We'd been waiting for NFC for a long time. We waited for Force Touch.

I guess they can do that edge-to-edge screen with no home button that we've been waiting for, but that seems like a gimick, not an actually useful feature.

I guess Apple could make it so that you can actually feel stuff on the screen. Like, Haptic feedback as opposed to Taptic feedback. Or some actual 3D features. Do we think Apple is going to have features like that ready for mass production within a year?

Edit: After doing some research on Lightning, Thunderbolt 3, and USB C, I think Apple might move to have Thunderbolt 3 be the only connection on all of their products, OS X and iOS alike. It's compact and reversible like Lightning and USB C, many, many times faster than Lightning, faster than USB C, and backwards compatible with USB C.
 
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ArtOfWarfare said:
I'm wondering where Apple has left to go at this point.

We'd been waiting for a bigger screen for a long time. We'd been waiting for NFC for a long time. We waited for Force Touch.

I guess they can do that edge-to-edge screen with no home button that we've been waiting for, but that seems like a gimick, not an actually useful feature.

I guess Apple could make it so that you can actually feel stuff on the screen. Like, Haptic feedback as opposed to Taptic feedback. Or some actual 3D features. Do we think Apple is going to have features like that ready for mass production within a year?
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We didn't really 'wait' for ForceTouch. That was brand new with the AppleWatch, and only released in a final state in what? March?

Edge to edge LCD brings durability problems. I honestly don't bet on this one.

Waterproof or water resistant with sealed electronic modules like the AppleWatch. This likely involves ditching the mechanical home button for a capacitive button.

Some of these thing could come around next year with the new industrial design.

Embedding TouchID in the LCD. They have a patent on this, remains to be seen if it's practical. I have my doubts. Seems a little too science fiction.

An overhaul of iOS at version 10... iOSX? lol. For a more black based UI, and switching to AMOLED displays like on the AppleWatch for more energy efficiency.

iPhone 7 likely started development 2 years ago. iPhones probably have a 3 year development cycle. They are highly technologically advanced. They more than likely have engineering teams leap frogging each other. So it's not a matter of can they do x in the next year. They've likely been working on whatever they want in it, for the last year... or 2!
 
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TMSC producing iPhone chips seems to be a perennial rumour. May as well write next year's article for them producing A11 chips for the 7S too...
 
Menel said:
iPhone 7 likely started development 2 years ago. iPhones probably have a 3 year development cycle. They are highly technologically advanced. They more than likely have engineering teams leap frogging each other. So it's not a matter of can they do x in the next year. They've likely been working on whatever they want in it, for the last year... or 2!
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Yeah, but we normally hear rumors about what Apple is working on 1-2 years ahead of them actually revealing it. We've heard that Apple is interested both in tracking things in 3D and displaying things in 3D, but we haven't heard anything about that in awhile. Are they still working on that stuff or did they can it? If they canned it, what are they working on now for the 7?

And I'm wondering what other rumors we've heard in the last year or two that we haven't actually seen in a released product yet.

I would love to see a black based iOS version - some kind of night mode would be great. But that's just a software feature - it'd be incredibly lame if Apple tried making that a distinguishing feature for the iPhone 7.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
Yeah, but we normally hear rumors about what Apple is working on 1-2 years ahead of them actually revealing it. We've heard that Apple is interested both in tracking things in 3D and displaying things in 3D, but we haven't heard anything about that in awhile. Are they still working on that stuff or did they can it? If they canned it, what are they working on now for the 7?

And I'm wondering what other rumors we've heard in the last year or two that we haven't actually seen in a released product yet.

I would love to see a black based iOS version - some kind of night mode would be great. But that's just a software feature - it'd be incredibly lame if Apple tried making that a distinguishing feature for the iPhone 7.
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It wont be night mode. It will be all the time dark/black mode ala AppleWatch. Combined with a switch from IPS to AMOLED ala AppleWatch. This maximizes energy efficiency, allowing for smaller battery for their 10hr runtime. Allowing for omgz impossibly thinnest iPhone evar!
 
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jayducharme said:
And the base model will still ship with 16 GB of storage.
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And people will still be bitching, lol.

I'm just curious, but would people complain more with them keeping the 16GB model, or if by removing the 16GB model they remove that lower price point (so the 64GB is the entry-level model but remains as costly as it is).
 
spaceballl said:
I hope that with the 7, they clean up the lineup... I'd love to not see a 5S / 6 / 6S for sale anymore. Just make a series of iPhone 7 devices. Mini (5s screen size), regular, and Plus.
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That would be a terrible move the fact that there still selling those models lets the public know Apple is still supporting them and there not obsolete.
 
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