The sole company responsible for manufacturing the processor in Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has reduced its shipping estimates after its facilities were damaged in an earthquake (via DigiTimes).
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) suffered the damage to its plants on February 6 when a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the southern part of the country.
Initially, TSMC reported that the damage incurred would reduce the amount of chips it could ship by less than 1 percent. However, this morning the company revised that estimate and said shipment numbers could be affected over the 1 percent mark, but stopped short of giving a specific number.
Despite the earthquake, TSMC stated it is confident of hitting target revenues of $5.9-6.0 billion in the first quarter of 2016. Whether the damage will affect production of the iPhone 7 chip, which is expected to begin in June, remains unclear.
TSMC reached a deal with Apple only last week to become the sole manufacturer for the iPhone 7's processor, partly thanks to its 10-nanometer manufacturing process. Apple used both Samsung and TSMC to manufacture the chips for the iPhone 6s, perhaps in a bid to lower risks, but the arrangement caused some controversy after benchmarks indicated performance variances between the companies' processors.
The processor in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is likely called the A10. Both devices are expected to debut in September. Leaks of the phones' design suggest that it may have a flush rear camera and a lack of antenna bands on its back. Other rumors indicate that the 7 Plus may feature a dual-lens camera system and that it may be waterproof and not have a headphone jack.
Top Rated Comments
Those of us who don't live near there can count their blessings, and I for one will gladly suffer some occasional delays to my material indulgences as I watch untold human suffering on the news from the safety of my living room, when another disaster hits those unfortunate people.
Might be over 1% suggests to me it's probably not a lot more than 1%.
Or, it's just carefully worded to smooth over the more serious reality, like how all Apple Support articles regarding widespread hardware issues begin with "We've discovered that a very small number of units are experiencing issues with..."
Those chips normally account for about 10% of an iPhone's bill of materials.
Moving completely to a Taiwan supplier, while closer to Foxconn China and probably cheaper, is a negative for both Samsung and Texas. And not very smart for Apple apparently, either. It smacks of a bean counter decision, with cost being the most important factor.