Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun to “tape out” the design for Apple’s A11 processor built on a 10nm FinFET process, according to industry sources (via DigiTimes).
Moskowitz said the Cupertino company won’t debut a spec-bumped, internally upgraded “iPhone 7s” in 2017, but a completely overhauled “iPhone 8” with “major design changes” and new, next-generation features like wireless charging. Either way, the A11-powered iPhone models would therefore be expected to launch in the second half of 2017.
Digitimes reports its sources as saying that TSMC is expecting to receive around two-thirds of Apple’s orders for the chip. It was reported in February that the company was to be the sole manufacturer of the A10 chip, with Samsung losing out.