“IC Insights gave the public a peek at their theory that Apple and Intel could possibly work together on a future 10 nm iDevice processor,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “One that they claim would give Apple a chance to leap well ahead of Samsung and TSMC capabilities and deliver powerful products.”
IC Insight’s latest Bulletin reads as follows:
Consider Intel’s plentiful wafer fab capacity and industry-leading process technology. Last month, Intel announced it would indefinitely postpone equipping its Fab 42 in Chandler, Arizona. This facility is currently a shell and was intended to have a built-out capacity of 40,000 300mm wafers per month. The company has stated that it expects the facility to be used for manufacturing at the 10nm process node after first ramping and running 14nm production…
Does it make sense for Intel to let Fab 42 sit idle as an empty shell or will Intel consider another radical move and put the fab to use manufacturing ICs for another, possibly competing, company?
It is no secret that Apple is looking to move some, if not eventually all, of its application processor production out of Samsung, its primary competitor in the smartphone and tablet PC markets… IC Insights estimates that Samsung produced about $3.4 billion worth of processors for Apple on a foundry basis in 2013.
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: With Apple already a major customer of Intel’s, seemingly interested in “Made in the U.S.A.” production, and embroiled in patent litigation against Samsung around the world, the stars may be aligned for Intel to fabricate Apple A-series SoCs.
Anything that finally permits Apple to stop incongruously doing business with Samsung sounds good to us!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
