TSMC to Begin Production of 'iPhone 8' and 'iPhone 7s' A11 Chip in April

[MacRumors]

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will begin volume production on Apple's A11 chip in April, with a production capacity of 50 million units of the chip aimed to be completed before July. The A11 chip is slated to power the new iPhone lineup launching later in 2017, including what is believed to be iterative "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus" updates, along with the specced-out "iPhone 8."

The A11 chips will be built on a 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process and are packed with a "wafer-level integrated fan-out" technology, according to a report by the Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes). For the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, TSMC currently manufactures the A10 chip on a 16nm FinFET process. The jump to 10nm is tipped to yield chips that are more power efficient, and subsequently provide end user experiences that are snappier.

Before the end of 2017, TSMC is expected to "maintain a capacity" for producing a total of 100 million of Apple's A11 chips.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will begin volume production of Apple's A11 chips in April and will prepare a capacity for production of 50 million units of the chip before July, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.

The A11 chips, which will power the upcoming iPhone series slated for launch in September 2017, will be built on a 10 nm FinFET process and packed with a wafer-level integrated fan-out (InFO) packaging technology, said the report.

Last summer it was confirmed that TSMC would become the sole supplier of the A11 chip, with the design of the chip reportedly being completed around that time as well. The supplier was also the sole maker of the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which ultimately helped lead TSMC to revenue growth towards the end of last year.

TSMC company spokesperson Michael Kramer earlier this month said that an official decision regarding the creation of a major production plant in the United States would now be held off until 2018. Kramer said the company would lose much of its "flexibility" if it moved production stateside, but if it does end up building a U.S. plant for the production of Apple chips it could become an investment worth upwards of $16 billion.

Article Link: TSMC to Begin Production of 'iPhone 8' and 'iPhone 7s' A11 Chip in April

 

[Sunny1990]

Thank God no chipgate crap, I really would love to have a tsmc chip special iPhone 8

 

[keysofanxiety]

Thank God no Samsung crap

Samsung are very talented and efficient when it comes to their chip fab manufacturing process. Although I personally don't respect Samsung as a company, I wouldn't wish Apple to move to a different manufacturer if it meant quality suffered as a result.

However I have no doubt that TSMC will do a fabulous job. Can't wait to see the ludicrous performance of the A11. Apple's mobile chips slay when it comes to performance.

 

[macduke]

What?? No A12 chip in the iPhone 8? /s

 

[Glideslope]

This Silicon will blow people away. Gonna raise the bar significantly.
[doublepost=1490619210][/doublepost]

What?? No A12 chip in the iPhone 8? /s

Still waiting to nail the 7nm process.

 

[69Mustang]

Thank God no Samsung crap, I really would love to have a tsmc chip special iPhone 8

No Samsung? I guess you won't be getting the rumored OLED iPhone 8. Samsung is one of the best component makers there is. Don't let your irrationality get in the way of getting the best product possible.

On topic: Since TSMC is ramping up production early, do we think Apple can push their other component makers to do the same so we can avoid the forever annual "launch shortage"?

 

[Sunny1990]

No Samsung? I guess you won't be getting the rumored OLED iPhone 8. Samsung is one of the best component makers there is. Don't let your irrationality get in the way of getting the best product possible.

On topic: Since TSMC is ramping up production early, do we think Apple can push their other component makers to do the same so we can avoid the forever annual "launch shortage"?

What do you mean no new iPhone 8 this September!!! So do we have to stick with the regular Booooring "S" models

 

[Rocketman]

The A11 chips will be built on a 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process and are packed with a "wafer-level integrated fan-out" technology

This small sentence has big meaning.

 

[Kebabselector]

subsequently provide end user experiences that are snappier.

Hope so.

 

[NinjaHERO]

It would be really cool if these early chips were going to be put into a new Ipad Pro model.

 

[manhattanboy]

Hope so.

I hope they include more ram. I want to have more windows open.

 

[realeric]

Thank God no chipgate crap, I really would love to have a tsmc chip special iPhone 8

Agreed. Apple shouldn't use components from the world most corrupted company Samsung. Head of Samsung is now in jail on charges of bribing.

 

[Sasparilla]

Awesome, the 7s and $1k 8 production rolls foward...

 

[LeonardXW]

I am so grateful that there have not much leaks this years.
Unfortunately I am not buying a new iPhone this year to save money for expensive macbook 2 years later.

 

[adamjackson]

Another kudos to Apple's chip-designers. YoY die shrinkage and monumental gains in speed. At some point, these massive improvements will slow down (look at Intel's billions of investment leading to smaller gains YoY) but Apple is leading the way on mobile processing. No one is close.

 

[RightMACatU]

They had me at "user experiences that are snappier"

 

[now i see it]

50,000,000 new chips fabricated before July. That's about 90 days from now. Mind boggling.

 

[Applebot1]

The 'A' chip is a piece of component hardware that they have excelled at. I bet there is an exciting road map ahead. Still think at some point we will see these transitioned over to the Mac .

 

[djcerla]

However I have no doubt that TSMC will do a fabulous job.

I see what you did there

 

[keysofanxiety]

I see what you did there

Unintentional, but I'll take it!

 

[macduke]

Still waiting to nail the 7nm process.

Holy crap we are getting close to Moore's law. I feel like these chips will keep getting smaller for a few years, then a little thicker with newer battery tech helping to cover the increased power budget, and then we'll be forced to move on to quantum computing. I hope Apple is doing research on this. They have one of the best chip design teams in the world, but that will be completely irrelevant in 10 years. We know that Google has a quantum team. It would be pretty wise for people to research and invest in quantum computing companies.

 

[Appleaker]

Are you still calling it the iPhone 8. Despite that NEVER happening, we've now had name indications. On the board was iPhone X and iPhone Edition, with Edition being much more likely. I think you should change but I guess it's become the recognisable name for the iPhone Edition. I don't think you can carry on doing it until September though.

 

[Jnesbitt82]

Holy crap we are getting close to Moore's law. I feel like these chips will keep getting smaller for a few years, then a little thicker with newer battery tech helping to cover the increased power budget, and then we'll be forced to move on to quantum computing. I hope Apple is doing research on this. They have one of the best chip design teams in the world, but that will be completely irrelevant in 10 years. We know that Google has a quantum team. It would be pretty wise for people to research and invest in quantum computing companies.

TSMC already announced plans for a $16 billion facility for producing 3nm and 5nm chips by 2023. Fun times!

 

[44267547]

Thank God no chipgate crap, I really would love to have a tsmc chip special iPhone 8

"Sunnysunnysingh said: ↑
Thank God no Samsung crap, I really would love to have a tsmc chip special iPhone 8"

Why did you edit your post from "Samsung" crap to "Chipgage crap?"

You're basically conflicting between the two, yet you think Samsung Components are "Crap." Samsung makes components for the iPhone and has in the past. So, you're essentially saying you won't be able to obtain an iPhone 8 due to having a company who manufactures an outstanding "Crap" component used in the iPhones you purchase. That makes zero sense.

 

[redscull]

It would be really cool if these early chips were going to be put into a new Ipad Pro model.

Yes! With the budget iPad refresh just done, we have no idea when the iPad Pro 2 will come out. If it's targeted after the new iPhones, I hope it also gets the new A11 chips.