Apple A9 Orders Pivot to TSMC

Samsung's yield issues may have caused the shift

Alan Patterson, EETimes
3/23/2015 00:00 AM EDT

TAIPEI — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest chip foundry, will snatch more orders for Apple's A9 processor at the expense of Samsung, which is having yield problems with its most advanced technology node, according to sources interviewed by EE Times.

Apple is ramping production of the A9 this year for the iPhone 6S, according to the sources. Apple, the world’s biggest company by market capitalization, originally handed Samsung about 80% of the A9 orders and the rest to TSMC, the sources say. Now the tables appear to have turned.

“We believe TSMC will get 40% of the next iPhone processors, in addition to all the next iPad processors,” said Mark Li, senior analyst with Bernstein, in a March 20 report. TSMC will get about 70% of Apple’s overall business starting in the third quarter of 2015, the report stated.

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