Apple's next iPhone is sure to come with a new version of the company's in-house Ax SoC, the A9, but at this time what is not certain is who will be responsible for producing the A9 chip. Both Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are said to be in the race, with different rumors pointing either one or the other as being the major provider of the chip. The latest word from industry sources is now suggesting that Samsung will emerge the victor when it comes to the Apple A9, with the Korean giant reportedly set to handle 70 percent of the chip's orders.
The A9 is set to be built on Samsung's 14nm FinFET technology, and Samsung will reportedly be ready to produce 30,000-40,000 12-inch wafers every month. Samsung will also be using Globalfoundries as a backup, with the latter expected to produce 20,000-30,000 wafers monthly. TSMC will take up the remaining 30 percent of orders; as usual, nothing is certain at the moment as various rumors have wildly differed in their reports, but given how big Samsung's semiconductor business is, the Korean manufacturer is sure to play some part in the production of the Apple A9.
