Apple to ditch Samsung for iPad 3 chip?

A6 SoC TSMC trial reported

15 July 2011 10:05 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

With all the legal wrangles going on between Apple and Samsung (you show me yours and I'll show you mine) it's easy to forget that the two tech giants are BFFs when it comes to chip production - Samsung manufactured the A4 chip that sits in your iPhone 4 and the A5 that's housed in your iPad 2.

Or at least they were - a report by Reuters suggests that Apple may be looking elsewhere when it comes to the production of its next-gen SoC, the A6.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, is said to be in the middle of a trial to see if it has the minerals for large scale A6 production - a task that will kick off before the launch of the iPad 3 either later this year or in 2012 (the iPhone 5 is likely to have the A5 chip inside).

There are questions over TSMC's ability to manufacture the volumes of chips needed to satisfy the eager fanboys, but the fact that Apple has initiated a trial will be of concern to Samsung.

"TSMC has got all the authorisation and details ready. Whether Apple puts in a formal order will depend on the yield rate," said the Reuters source.

Whilst we wait and see when the iPad 3 will land and just what hardware it'll be packing check out our iPad 3: Specs and features wishlist

- iPad 3: Review of rumours, features, pictures and specs

Via: reuters.com

Read our review of the new iPad (3rd generation)

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Phones, Tablets, iPad, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, Apple, Samsung, TSMC, Chipsets