Apple Gets Its First Batch of iPhone Chips From TSMC 45
redletterdave (2493036) notes that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has shipped its first batch of microprocessors to Apple as the iPhone maker looks to diversify its overseas suppliers. Apple will continue to rely on Samsung for its microprocessors, but as the rivalry between Apple and Samsung heats up in the mobile and soon wearable arenas, the deal with TSMC allows Apple to be less reliant on Samsung and therefore have more leverage with respect to price negotiations for future chips, as TSMC has supplanted Samsung Electronics as Apple's chief chipmaker for iPhones and iPads. Since 2011, Apple has been striking deals with other display and chip makers around Asia to reduce its dependence on Samsung. As a result of this slowdown in sales, Samsung on Monday announced operating income for its fiscal second quarter had sunk to a two-year low, blaming 'weak' sales of low- and medium-end smartphones, strong competition and subpar demand.
It may not be a household name like Intel or AMD, but TSMC is the world's biggest chip maker by revenue.
It may not be a household name like Intel or AMD, but TSMC is the world's biggest chip maker by revenue.
Honestly (Score:1, Interesting)
I busted my smartphone screen about a year ago (The Motorola Droid Razr XT912). I ordered a new screen, and while I waited for my new screen replacement I reactivated my old Blackberry Bold World Tour (I think it was the 8950? Could be wrong).
I actually enjoyed going back to my blackberry for a few weeks, it has a lot of glitches, and it only has 3g support, so it caused a few headaches. But I use my phone as a phone, so the fact that it could call, text, and do my e-mail was plenty for me. I don't ever use the camera, I don't use any apps except a web browser and Pandora. And honestly, I still love the way blackberry handled email and text. I still miss Viigo, which in my mind, is the single greatest app of all time (Blackberry bought it, and ruined it /sigh).
I have a lot of friends that have the latest and greatest, but honestly they are just fanboys. They show me all these "new" features that are "soooo revolutionary" and I couldn't be more turned off. I will never by a phone with a fingerprint scanner, I see that as a security liability. I won't buy a phone that has a higher pixel density than my eyes can even comprehend (it's just wasted power). I won't buy a phone because it has the latest and greatest OS version (that's why I use Cyanogenmod, no bloatware, and all the new features I could want). I won't buy a phone because it has a faster 4G radio, when cell companies have your bandwidth restricted to the point where you'd blow through all your data in a matter of minutes (and restrict your speed after a certain point, even if it's unlimited). I won't buy a phone that I can never truly own, because of a locked bootloader.
Idk how many people out there are like me. But the phone I would buy, is the phone built for the consumer. Not so locked down that the only way I can upgrade or change the OS is with the original manufacturer's permission. A phone built lean, not so crammed with fancy things I don't need it'll cost a few paychecks to replace/repair if I drop it.
But I really see this going more and more in the direction of desktop computing. Where we've started to see the plateau of not technology itself, but the plateau of the technology the average person needs.
If these companies want to keep increasing their bottom line, there needs to be more innovation, and less of increasing performance numbers. I'm no Apple fanboy, but it seems like these companies are just riding out Apple's innovation and then acting surprised that that innovation has a life expectancy.
Maybe Google project Ara is a step in the right direction? Maybe the Amazon phone? Only time will tell.