Samsung, ASE tapped to build Apple Watch's S1 processing module - report
Apple will reportedly turn to longtime supplier and sometimes-rival Samsung to fabricate the application processor for the forthcoming Apple Watch, while Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering is said to have been chosen to package the new device's S1 processing module.
Samsung will manufacture the chip on its 28-nanometer fabrication process, according to DigiTimes. Apple is believed to have ordered up to 4,000 12-inch wafers per month.
The application processor is just one piece of Apple's S1, which employs a system-in-package, or SiP, design. This allows the company to incorporate a number of disparate chips into a single package, making the resulting component smaller and lighter while reducing power consumption.
Alongside the application processor, Apple's S1 package will include mobile DRAM, NAND flash for storage, and circuitry to control functions like wireless connectivity and touch input. It remains unclear which firms have been chosen as the source for these secondary components.
Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering -- one of the world's largest semiconductor packaging firms --?will be responsible for packaging and module assembly.
As per usual, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company are said to be vying for the right to produce a second-generation "S2" module. The two firms have long fought each other for Apple's business, with TSMC winning its first production order for A-series chips last year.
Samsung will manufacture the chip on its 28-nanometer fabrication process, according to DigiTimes. Apple is believed to have ordered up to 4,000 12-inch wafers per month.
The application processor is just one piece of Apple's S1, which employs a system-in-package, or SiP, design. This allows the company to incorporate a number of disparate chips into a single package, making the resulting component smaller and lighter while reducing power consumption.
Alongside the application processor, Apple's S1 package will include mobile DRAM, NAND flash for storage, and circuitry to control functions like wireless connectivity and touch input. It remains unclear which firms have been chosen as the source for these secondary components.
Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering -- one of the world's largest semiconductor packaging firms --?will be responsible for packaging and module assembly.
As per usual, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company are said to be vying for the right to produce a second-generation "S2" module. The two firms have long fought each other for Apple's business, with TSMC winning its first production order for A-series chips last year.
Comments
That's idiotic.
It's already built.
Like many others here at AI (and other tech rumor sites), you don't seem to realize that words can have multiple definitions. In this case, clearly the author is using the word "build" as "assemble."
I suggest you spend a little more time reading, with a good dictionary and thesaurus by your side. And don't forget to read for context. It's an essential skill in reading comprehension.
Good luck.
For the past four/five quarters Samsung has announced declining revenue and profit. To lessen the blow, a rumor comes along claiming Samsung won an Apple manufacturing job.
AI publishes the rumor without questioning anything. When the TSMC rumor surfaces, AI questions the truth of the new rumor. It seems like AI WANTS or NEEDS for the Samsung rumor to be true and the TSMC rumor to be false.
Why?
AI -- like many tech rumor sites -- likes to play up this Apple-Samsung competition.
There, I've spelled out what one would think would be fairly obvious. I hope this clarifies matters for you.
Don't forget we need to get an article with a quote from Ho Chi Minh or whatever his name is.
You're 2 for 2 in the grouchy replies
Coffee kicking in...
Please note that their points were addressed in my responses.
Don't forget we need to get an article with a quote from Ho Chi Minh or whatever his name is.
You forgot the "well-connected" part...
1) My feeling about them creating the SIP and stating that it's fully sealed from the elements, along with the conundrum of an expensive timepiece that typically have very long ownership that is also CE with a short lifespan makes me think that is possible, although I would expect it to be done by a professional, like an Authorized Apple Jeweler in your mall, just like one might go to a jeweler to get a watch battery changed.
2) The naming of it I don't think is a clue since they do name the M-series and A-series chips, which are soldered to the board.
Because AI thinks it's a more "controversial" story when Apple is pitted directly against Samsung who is a direct competitor in the smartphone market segment. TSMC doesn't compete with Apple at all in terms of shipping product lines.
AI -- like many tech rumor sites -- likes to play up this Apple-Samsung competition.
There, I've spelled out what one would think would be fairly obvious. I hope this clarifies matters for you.
You are being a bi*ch today. I hope this clarifies matters for you.
That Module looks suspiciously like something that could be replaced in the future for another module (think about that name) called maybe S2 and possibly the battery module (there we go again) thus making the multi $1000 watch upgradable !
One can only hope.
That Module looks suspiciously like something that could be replaced in the future for another module (think about that name) called maybe S2 and possibly the battery module (there we go again) thus making the multi $1000 watch upgradable !
While there are other reasons for making it this way, I tend to agree that the Apple Watch will be upgradable by an authorized agent of Apple. I also think the backside with the sensors will be replaceable/interchangeable as well - As Apple develops more sophisticated sensors, they will be added to the sensor "array" and people will be able to pick the sensor features they want and/or upgrade later.
With all the hires from various industries, I think Apple understands that when someone buys a watch, they buy it to last a long time - and so they designed the Apple Watch in a modular fashion that'll make it easily upgradable.
Hell I wouldn't be surprised if the antenna inside wasn't designed to be upgraded as well... when WiFi or even mobile radios make the cut.
Don't forget we need to get an article with a quote from Ho Chi Minh or whatever his name is.
Indeed ... 78% chance he will say "Supply chain for the Apple Watch is constrained".
But yeah, love how this article is written as if Apple just decided this morning, that maybe someone needs to manufacture the processor. Classic.
When can we start saying that Apple is ‘saving’ Samsung with this rumored deal like Microsoft ‘saved’ Apple?
You are being a bi*ch today. I hope this clarifies matters for you.
Well, I provided you with the correct answer. You should understand that if you ask a question, sometimes you get an answer you don't like. That's life, not just AppleInsider's forums.
Have a nice day!
Well, I provided you with the correct answer. You should understand that if you ask a question, sometimes you get an answer you don't like. That's life, not just AppleInsider's forums.
Have a nice day!
Actually, you did not provide me with the correct answer. You should understand you do not have to answer a question with a demeaning tone. Have a nice day!
As others have stated AI should have clarified that this was a "questionable rumour out of the Far East" especially when it's coming from digitimes. Some AI authors will go to the trouble of including an entire paragraph at the start of the article clarifying digitimes poor track record. It would be best not to even waste time on a rumour like this but if they feel the need to report on it at least clarify that it's most likely complete B.S.
This is positive thought provocation I was aiming for with my observation and question above that just might assist AI with becoming consistent with its rumor reporting. One can only aim though.