
It’s no secret Apple has been going after Samsung, both in the mobile market and in the courts. Now it looks like Apple will take the grudge match to a new arena as it is set to shift CPU orders away from Samsung and to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC). DigiTimes cites industry observers as saying it appears likely TSMC will produce the chips for Apple’s next iOS device in 2013. Should TSMC get the massive Apple order, it will be forced to balance its production capability between its new client and some of its other big name customers like Qualcomm, Nvidia and Altera. The combined iPhone and iPad CPU demands is estimated at roughly 200 million per year. This means TSMC will need a minimum of 200,000 12-inch wafers in order to take on the additional demand. I’m not a quotable “industry observer” but come on, who didn’t see this coming?
Source: DigiTimes