Samsung may have been excluded as a supplier of Apple chips
According to Chinese-language news website, Digitimes, Samsung has been dropped as a supplier of chips for Apple’s iPhones.
Previously, the chips – including the A9 chip – were created equally by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung, but not only is TSMC the sole supplier of the iPhone 7’s A10 chip, it seems that the A11 will be the same.
Tests of the iPhone have shown that the TSMC chip runs better and offers an extended battery life; a small difference, but significant enough for Apple to make the change.
The latest in the iPhone series will be released on 2016. Various reports suggest that Apple may be planning something different for the gadget’s 10th anniversary next year.
The Digitimes article states: "TSMC is already the exclusive manufacturer of Apple’s A10 chip which will power the upcoming iPhone series slated for launch in September 2016. The Taiwan-based foundry will continue to be the sole supplier of Apple’s next-generation A11 processor that will be built on a 10nm FinFET process."