According to a report from Digitimes, Apple is likely to starting placing order for CPU fro its mobile devices from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC) in 2013. Currently, Samsung is the sole provider of CPUs to Apple.
The report stated, “the semiconductor industry is now more concerned about how TSMC is going to distribute its production capacity, and what proportion of revenues and profits it can generate if it receives CPU orders from Apple in 2013.”
According to the report:
[quote] Demand from Apple is expected to be huge, said the observers, adding that allocation of TSMC’s available advanced process capacity among its major clients will be a critical decision to be made by the foundry.
TSMC’s advanced process offerings serve the world’s major fabless IC firms including Altera, Qualcomm and Nvidia. While being capable of providing sufficient capacity to Apple, TSMC also does not want to upset its existing major clients, the observers noted. Allocating efficiently its production capacity will be a focus for the foundry in 2013, the observers believe.
Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices collectively demand almost 200 million CPUs every year, the observers estimate. TSMC will need at least more than 200,000 12-inch wafers ready to satisfy the huge demand from Apple, the observers said.[/quote]
Analysts are predicting that such an order from Apple would significantly improve TSMC’s revenues and profitability in 2013.
“TSMC chairman and CEO Morris Chang previously hinted that it makes complete sense to dedicate a whole fab, or two whole fabs, to just one customer in order to supply enough chips for their high-volume products,” Chao and Shen report. “TSMC recently broke ground for the sixth-phase construction of its Fab 14, a 12-inch wafer plant located in southern Taiwan. The new facility will become TSMC’s first fab to mass produce 20nm SoCs, and 16nm FinFET chips, the foundry revealed.”
Source: DigiTimes
