TSMC To Start Mass Production On The 10nm A11 Processor For IPhone 8 In April

While we’re not expecting the iPhone 8 (and the iPhone 7s’) until September, Apple’s suppliers have to start ramping up production for components before then. Today, the Economic Daily News is reporting that TSMC will begin mass production on Apple’s A11 processor in April.

The A11, which will be powering the iPhone 8, will be using a 10nm process. In contrast the A10 Fusion uses a 16nm process. The A10 Fusion, found in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, has two high-power cores and two low-power cores.

TSMC is currently the sole manufacturer for the A10 chip. It is expected to stay that way for the A11 chip. In general, lower nanometers mean better energy efficiency and performance, and higher clock speeds.

The report says that the A11 SoC will be using a FinFET process, packaged with a ‘wafer-level integrated fan-out’ technology. While it’s likely, it’s unclear whether or not the A11 will be another ‘fusion’ chip that incorporates two high-power and two low-power processors.