Apple Again Believed To Be Going With Samsung For A9 SoC

Reducing reliance on one of their largest competitors seems difficult for Apple. According to a new report, Apple will turn to Samsung for production of their A9 SoC. Why would Apple go with Samsung again after having them split time with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for their current A8 SoCs? It seems Samsung's edge in manufacturing process is what's turning the tides. At 14nm (nanometers, so really small), the Samsung chipsets are less power consumptive, more powerful, and likely have a longer lifespan.

TSMC chipsets are still manufactured at 20nm, which is just a touch behind most modern processes. The 14nm process Samsung employs is about the smallest we've heard of, but 16-18nm is quickly becoming normal. just yesterday, ARM announced advanced chipsets using a 16nm process. It's worth noting TSMC is said to be working on a 16nm process of their own.

Apple has gone with Samsung in the past for production of their proprietary SoCs, even having them split work with TSMC on the A8, but recent legal wrangling is believed to have led to a cooling-off period. It's worth noting that these chips are designed by Apple; Samsung is simply there to provide the physical product.

We'd previously heard Samsung was making the latest SoC for Apple in Austin, Texas, but we're not sure if chips will also come from Korea. Neither Samsung or Apple have confirmed who will produce the A9 chipset, but Apple doesn't typically discuss such matters.

Source: Re/Code