The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reportedly inked an agreement with Apple to exclusively manufacture the A10 chip for the next iteration of iPhone.
The news originated from The Electronics Times, saying that the TSMC's 10-nanometer manufacturing technology is among the main reasons why Apple granted the deal solely to the company over its strong competitor Samsung.
The report [translated] also says that the chip will presumably enter into full production this June.
Last month, however, TSMC said in its conference call that it was targeting to boost its 10nm production next year, with a slow start to production in the second half of this year.
The A8 chip, which can be found under the hoods of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, was created by TSMC. Apple, however, entrusted the creation of the A9 chip both to TSMC and Samsung, which sooner or later brought on a controversy.
Quite a few users last year observed differences on the overall performance of iPhone models fitted with Samsung's A9 chip and the TSMC's A9 chip. Videos and benchmark tests showed off that the TSMC chip provided much better batteries and ran cooler as opposed to the phones packed with Samsung's chip.
Apple, in the meantime, said that based on the internal testing it carried out, the difference in performance was just 2 to 3 percent.
Speculation is rife saying that the iPhone 7 is expected to come out in September this year. Yet, details about the next-generation iPhone have already begun to surface.
Lately, we reported about the most recent iPhone 7 render, showing off that the upcoming device will come packed with a waterproof body (a first for the company), ceramic back and super AMOLED screen.
One notable improvement from the current version of the device is that Apple will reportedly ditch the antenna bands which some users think as unsightly.
The leaked rumor shows that the iPhone 7 will veer away from the 3.5 mm headphone jack and will have an enhanced Touch ID.
What's more, this iPhone model will come equipped with a new metal frame, a 12-megapixel main camera at the back and a high-speed charging technology. On top of that, the render confirms that the phone will be fitted with an A10 processor.
As always, it is best to take reports like this about the upcoming iPhone model with a grain of salt.
For now, let's center our attention first on the release of Apple's 4-inch iPhone 5se, which is pegged to be unwrapped this March.
