Apple has ordered more than 100 million A15 Bionic chips from TSMC
As Apple’s new generation of iPhone 13 series is getting closer and closer, Apple’s supply chain is also accelerating production to ensure sufficient stocking before the official launch of the iPhone 13 series. At the end of May, it was reported that Samsung and LG, which are screen suppliers, were produced ahead of schedule due to Apple’s request, which was about a month earlier than usual, and Samsung’s progress was about ten days faster than LG. The early production is due to the severe global coronavirus epidemic this year and the serious shortage in the semiconductor industry.
As a core component, the production of the A15 Bionic chip is crucial. According to Wccftech reports, also in May, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has begun to produce A15 Bionic for Apple. Apple is said to have ordered more than 100 million A15 Bionic chips. Compared with the previous generation of products, Apple requires a 20% increase in production to meet the needs of the sales of the iPhone 13 series. Apple hopes that the supply chain will stock up on spare parts for the new iPhone as soon as possible to avoid insufficient inventory when the new phone is released, which may affect sales. Some models of Apple products have encountered supply problems this year, resulting in longer delivery times.
A15 Bionic will be manufactured using TSMC’s N5P process node and retain the same six-core configuration of A14 Bionic. Compared with the current 5nm process used by A14 Bionic, the enhanced process node can improve performance and energy efficiency. A15 Bionic is rumored to be of great help in terms of battery life. It is understood that this year’s iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max may be equipped with a variable refresh rate display for the first time, and a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panel with a 120Hz refresh rate is exclusively supplied by Samsung. Compared with the two models of the iPhone 12 Pro series released last year, the LTPO screen is more likely to consume battery life.
