Apple A7 Processor: Shifting To TSMC From Samsung Will Start A7-Exynos 5 Octa Battle

By Shailesh Shrivastava | Mar 15, 2013 08:04 AM EDT

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The earlier rumors of Apple planning of building an A7 processor to decrease its dependability on Samsung for semiconductors have surfaced once again, and this time they have come with something which Samsung will be very concerned about.

According to a latest report from DigiTimes, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), will tap out the A7 processor this month and the chip will be move to risk production in May or June.

Apple has already been rumored to move to a more advanced chip making process to give more power to its processors. Apple's latest processor, A6 coming with iPhone 5 and iPad with Retina display, is built on a 32-nanometer processor, and the A7 is said to be build on a 20-nanometer processor to give more cores and power to the chip.

Although the information is not confirmed by either TSMC or Apple, but DigiTimes claims to be quoting some reliable sources in the industry.

"TSMC is expanding production facilities at 14-fab at the Tainan Science Park with a total investment at the park of NT$500 billion (US$16.87 billion), said the sources, adding that TSMC will utilize 14-fab to manufacture the A7 chips for Apple," the report states.

The commercial shipment of the processors are expected to start in the first quarter of next year, and it fuels the rumors that Apple is going to use this chipset in its iPhone 6, which is going to be launched somewhere next year.

If Apple is really shifting its processor order from Samsung to TSMC, the Cupertino-based company will be hitting two targets with one bullet.

By shifting to a 20-nanometer process Apple will offer more effective and power saving processors and at the same time it will be targeting Samsung's latest Exynos 5 Octa processor which is built on a 28-nanometer process.

Samsung launched the Exynos 5 Octa processor during this year's International CES held in Las Vegas in January. Before this, Samsung was building it processors like Exynos 5 dual-core and Exynos 4 on a 32-nanometer process.

The performance of Exynos 5 Octa-core processor can be seen in the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone. With the time, Samsung's latest processor will be seen in other devices too because of its power saving qualities and better graphics support.

As rumors have it, Apple will be powering its iPhone 6 with the A7 processor, Apple's strategy of shifting to A7 processor will definitely be seen as a counter attack on Samsung.

As everyone knows about the growing rivalry between Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market, A7 production by TSMC will give birth to one more battle platform to both the companies and that will be about processors.

Although we should take the DigiTimes report with a grain of salt, but if the move takes place, we will witness a fierce battle between the A7 and Exynos 5 Octa processors.