TSMC to Remain Sole Supplier of Apple Processors for At Least Two Years [Report]

TSMC will reportedly remain the sole supplier of Apple's mobile processors for at least two years as other foundries fail to meet expectations, according to a new report from EETimes.

The world’s biggest electronics company and the world’s biggest foundry have their arms around each other, yet both may find the intimacy a bit uncomfortable. Apple will be risking the regular launch of new iPhones and iPads by counting on TSMC for production of follow-up processors to the A11 without a backup supplier. TSMC, on the other hand, will depend on Apple to fill up nearly 80 percent of its leading-edge 7nm capacity, entering production this year.

In 2014, Apple selected TSMC to make its new iPhone and iPad chips. The company invested $9 billion and employed 6,000 people around the clock to bring up a new fab in 11 months with "flawless execution", according to Apple COO Jeff Williams.


“As long as TSMC continues to offer something new at leading-edge every year and continues to execute well on yield, I could see Apple remaining sole source on foundry at TSMC for years to come,” Arete Research analyst Brett Simpson told EE Times.

Credit Suisse analyst Randy Abrams believes that TSMC will remain the sole source for Apple's processors until 2020. “Apple and TSMC have mutually benefited to date from the relationship; Apple has been able to have annual upgrades to its processors, and TSMC has a very large anchor customer to bring it up to scale on its new nodes,” Abrams told EE Times.

More details in the full report linked below...

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