Apple Signs Manufacturing Deal with TSMC [WSJ]

Apple has signed a deal with TSMC to manufacture some chips for its mobile devices starting in 2014, reports the WSJ. A TSMC executive confirmed the news which was first reported by DigiTimes earlier this week.

As early as 2010, Apple and TSMC started discussing working together to build the chips, say the TSMC executives. In 2011, TSMC senior executive Chiang Shang-yi met Apple officials to discuss collaborating on the complex process. Apple asked to invest in TSMC, or to have TSMC set aside factory space dedicated to Apple chips, the executives say. TSMC Chairman Morris Chang rejected both requests because the company wanted to maintain its independence and manufacturing flexibility, the executives say.

The company will produce chips for Apple using its "20-nanometer" technology which makes then smaller and more energy efficient. Although, the companies has been working towards a deal for some time, the process of making the chips to Apple's speed and power standards had been beset by glitches.


Samsung is still expected to remain the primary supplier of Apple's chip through the next year.

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