Skip to main content

Reports: Apple testing Taiwan’s TMSC as new chipmaker

Apple A5 chip
Image used with permission by copyright holder

According to reports in Reuters and elsewhere, Apple is testing manufacture of future iPhone and iPad processors with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a move that could make the Cupertino company less dependent on South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. Samsung has been the exclusive supplier of the Apple-designed, ARM-based A4 and A5 chips used in iPhone and iPad devices to date. According to Reuters, Apple is looking to source future processors from TSMC—Apple is believed to be working towards a quad-core extension of the existing dual-core A5 processor, aimed at future Apple products that could hit the market in 2012. It may—or may not—wind up being called the A6. Apple may also be pursuing a smaller (and more power-efficient) version of its existing dual-core A5 processor.

Recommended Videos

Although Samsung has been making Apple’s processor chips, TSMC is actually the largest contract chip manufacturer on the planet, and almost certainly has the capacity to meet Apple’s needs if the tests succeed and Apple contracts with the company for high-volume production. TSMC also has expertise with manufacturing ARM-based chips.

Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in an increasingly hostile patent dispute over their mobile product lines, with Apple accusing Samsung of blatantly copying Apple’s iPhone and iPad designs with its Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab smartphone and tablets—the companies have countersued each other and filed complaints seeking to bar imports of the other’s products. That said, Apple and Samsung are also strong business partners, with Apple being one of Samsung’s biggest customers for flash memory and other components critical to its products.

Some industry watchers have speculated that Apple might also seek to partner with Intel on future mobile chip designs—Intel indicated recently that Apple has significant input into Intel processor plans—but Intel would undoubtedly like to see Apple convert over to Intel’s line of Atom-based mobile processors, rather than keep going with ARM-based designs.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
The iPad doesn’t need AI, but Apple must fix something else
Top view of the rear shell on the 11th Gen iPad.

I just finished testing the new entry-level iPad, and so far, I am fairly impressed by the tablet. You can’t get a better value than this slate for $349. From the external hardware to the innards, there is hardly any alternative from the Android side that can deliver a superior experience.
This year, Apple delivered a couple of surprises, in addition to the expected chip upgrade. You now get twice the storage for the same ask, and the RAM has also been bumped up. In a nutshell, it’s faster, better at multi-tasking, and without any storage headaches, even if your budget is tight.
Apple, however, hasn’t fixed the software situation with iPadOS, which continues to bother with its fair share of quirks in tow. This year, however, the software gulf is even wider between the baseline iPad and every other tablet in Apple’s portfolio. Stage Manager has been the big differentiator so far, but in 2025, we have another deep chasm.

A good riddance with AI

Read more
WWDC 2025: everything you need to know
Apple WWDC 2025 logo

The Worldwide Developer Conference or WWDC is one of Apple's most vital annual events where software updates take the center stage. At WWDC 2025, Apple is expected to showcase changes to the iOS and macOS that will substantially improve how we interact with the iPhone, iPad, and the Mac. But that are not all the announcements, as Apple will also discuss improvements to all of its interface running on different categories of devices. Besides software, we might witness some hardware announcements too.

Here's everything you need to know about the potential announcements Apple is likely to make in June this year at WWDC 2025.
WWDC 2025: When will it happen?
WWDC typically takes place in the first half of June every year, though the dates change every year. Apple likes to kick off the event with a keynote on a Monday, and will continue the tradition this year.

Read more
Don’t get too excited by those iOS 19 mock-ups — they’re probably not accurate
iOS 19 sample logo.

Everyone is getting hyped about the big design changes reportedly coming to iOS 19 this year -- so when Jon Prosser shared a mock-up based on an iMessage screen he claimed to have seen for himself, we all got excited.

A few hours later, however, the biggest Apple tipster of them all, Mark Gurman, shared a post on X addressing the images.

Read more