A note to Apple investors has revealed that Cupertino is shifting more production of its upcoming A9 processors to TSMC. This was done at the last minute following concerns that the other contracted manufacturers, which include Samsung, would not be able to meet demand in time.
The information came from KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been known to be well connected to sources inside Apple. Apple is apparently concerned that GlobalFoundries, one of its contracted partners, has been having a lower yield of chips that it has hoped for. GlobalFoundries has been seeing yields of only 30-percent, well below the expected yields of 50-percent. This has apparently worried Cupertino that it will not be able to meet demand for the next iPhone.
On a similar note, the success of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 edge will have the South Korean company focused on keeping the majority of its production on meeting demand for those two flagship smartphones. If Samsung’s most recent flagship had not received this kind of response, Apple may have turned to the company instead to fill out its required orders. That being said, Samsung is still contracted to supply at least a portion of the A9 processor.
At this rate, it looks like TSMC will be producing around 30-percent of Apple’s requirements for the upcoming iPhone. Fortunately, the Taiwanese firm has been performing better than Cupertino has expected and looks to be capable of meeting the increased requirements.
[Source: Apple Insider]
