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Apple preparing A-series processor production move to TSMC: sources

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http://www.zdnet.com – As the patent battle between Apple and Samsung shows no sign of ending, it seems that the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant in preparing to turn to TSMC for its A-series processors. (General)

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Submitted by dayu on 11/30/2012

Stories similar to Apple preparing A-series processor production move to TSMC: sources

Apple is looking to shift production of its mobile device processors to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sooner rather than later, according to Taiwan-based newspaper The Commercial Times (via AppAdvice).

  It’s no secret Apple has been going after Samsung, both in the mobile market and in the courts. Now it looks like Apple will take the grudge match to a new arena as it is set to shift CPU orders away from Samsung and to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC).

Not only does the rumor claim that Apple is shifting to TSMC, but that there will also be a die shrink down from the 32-nanometers that Samsung is currently capable of producing to a much finer 20-nanometers.

Apple's hiring of 16-year AMD chip veteran could allow the Cupertino tech giant to shift A-series processor production away from Samsung. But the move could also have implications for Intel, which supplies CPUs for Macs.

With mobile phones and tablets getting more advanced every single day, so does the hardware that goes inside them. Mobile chip designer ARM and TSMC have managed to create the first 64-bit Cortex-A57 processor. Even more impressive, they did it utilizing 16nm technology developed by TSMC.

Samsung has reportedly increased the price of the mobile processors it manufactures for Apple’s iOS devices by 20 percent, according to South Korean daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo (via MarketWatch), which says it received the information with someone familiar with negotiations between the two firms.

The move will cost the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant around $100 million, but what the company loses in cash, it is likely to gain in goodwill.

More supply could lower prices...

Folks in Cupertino and Apple fans around the world are surely in a good mood going into this weekend with the recently announced results of the Apple v Samsung trial in which Apple has prevailed (at least for now). More good news for Apple came out of the ITC today in determining that Apple had not violated a Motorola patent on some wifi technology.