Apple chip suppliers gearing up capacity for 'iPhone 7' production - report

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in iPhone
Right on schedule for a fall product launch, Apple's suppliers are said to be reserving "a significant portion" of production capacities for the second and third quarters of 2016, ahead of the highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.




Major partners in Apple's supply chain are said to be setting aside capacity for Apple's next-generation handset, according to sources who spoke with DigiTimes. Specifically, it was said that Cirrus Logic and Analog Devices are planning to devote a major chunk of their operations for Apple's so-called "iPhone 7."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is also said to be gearing up to build most -- or potentially all -- of Apple's next-generation "A10" processor, widely assumed to power the new iPhone. TSMC is planning to begin volume production of 16-nanometer FinFET process chips in the second quarter of 2016, the report said.

DigiTimes has a mixed track record in predicting Apple's future product plans, but its supply chain sources have supplied advance information on key partnerships in the past. And given the fact that new iPhones have debuted in the fall for years, the timing makes sense.

The publication's latest report claimed that parts from Cirrus Logic and Analog Devices will play a significant role in allowing the "iPhone 7" to be even thinner than the current iPhone 6s design.

In particular, Analog Devices is reportedly the supplier of driver components for a rumored dual lens camera said to include optical image stabilization and zoom for superior pictures. Rumors have suggested the new dual-lens design may be limited to the larger "iPhone 7 Plus" variant.

Despite being thinner, the new iPhone is expected to ditch the camera bump found on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6, returning to a flat back with new lens technology. Reports have also suggested Apple will ditch the prominent rear casing antenna lines that have been found on the last two generations of iPhone.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    Peter Z
  • Reply 2 of 30
    pmz said:
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    Enlighten us, o great one, why the iPhone 7 will be a disappointment. 
    netmage
  • Reply 3 of 30
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    I can't wait to not have a 3.5mm socket.  That's worth at least half the price right there. /s
    pmztallest skil
  • Reply 4 of 30
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    pmz said:
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    Enlighten us, o great one, why the iPhone 7 will be a disappointment. 
    How about you answer the question, of why it is "highly anticipated".

    No where did I say it would be a disappointment.
  • Reply 5 of 30
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,044member
    pmz said:
    Enlighten us, o great one, why the iPhone 7 will be a disappointment. 
    How about you answer the question, of why it is "highly anticipated".

    No where did I say it would be a disappointment.
    I agree with you about the current phones, but I'll take a shot at answering the question.  The iPhone 7 is highly anticipated because many people hope that Apple can make some more magic happen.  I think it was Jobs who said he didn't like customer surveys because they didn't really know what they wanted.  Before the car, if you asked people what they wanted, it was a faster horse.  Well, people know Apple can turn things upside down, and they want to see it happen again even if they don't know what it would be.  It's also highly anticipated because investors and analcysts want to see Apple return to a higher rate of growth.  The iPhone 7 is not highly anticipated because there is something fundamentally wrong with the existing phones.  I love my iPhone 6.  Maybe a better battery, but otherwise I like everything pretty much as it is.
    netmage1983
  • Reply 6 of 30
    pmz said:
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    iPhone 7 is highly anticipated by many non-iPhone 6s users (i.e., iPhone 4s/5/5s/6 users).
    radarthekatmdriftmeyernetmage1983
  • Reply 7 of 30
    PMZ, I have to agree with you, regardless of other comments. I upgraded my 6+ to the 6s+ and I am not sure that I really got much for my money. I will probably upgrade to the 7+ also. My upgrade from the iPad Air 2 to the iPad Pro was a much bigger jump in performance. I in no way stress any of my equipment, I am too old to bother with the things I used to do. But I do enjoy the speed if the iPad Pro in rendering web pages. So, "highly anticipating", no, but looking forward to it, yes.
  • Reply 8 of 30
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,453member
    2old4fun said:
    PMZ, I have to agree with you, regardless of other comments. I upgraded my 6+ to the 6s+ and I am not sure that I really got much for my money. I will probably upgrade to the 7+ also. My upgrade from the iPad Air 2 to the iPad Pro was a much bigger jump in performance. I in no way stress any of my equipment, I am too old to bother with the things I used to do. But I do enjoy the speed if the iPad Pro in rendering web pages. So, "highly anticipating", no, but looking forward to it, yes.
    I don't believe that Apple has an expectation that users will be upgrading with each new release, though they are making that much easier and more economical. The fact that you and PMZ are amongst a large group that does, excitement or no, doesn't detract from the fact that there are users of previous generations that are excited about the release of the iPhone 7.

    Me, I'm on the 6 Plus, and I'm happy to wait for the 7s generation for a few more features, specifically a dual lens camera, but I am always excited about the evolutionary improvements that are gained with each generation.
    levinetmage
  • Reply 9 of 30
    Isn't it time to start talking about the iPhone 8? The 7 is so yesterday.
    edited February 2016 maclvr031983
  • Reply 10 of 30
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,924member
    "TSMC is planning to begin volume production of 16-nanometer FinFET process chips in the second quarter of 2016, the report said." Earlier drum-beating report of TSMC getting all the iphone 7 A10 processor manufacturing contract and has somehow pulled-in 10nm chip fabrication for A10 which all along I doubted based on their history/track record.
    edited February 2016
  • Reply 11 of 30
    levilevi Posts: 344member
    pmz said:
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    I am highly anticipating the iPhone 7
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 12 of 30
    levi said:
    pmz said:
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    I am highly anticipating the iPhone 7
    3D Touch will be implemented in much more useful ways. Sure, TouchID was in the 5S, but the 6 is where it became much more interesting.
  • Reply 13 of 30
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    levi said:
    I am highly anticipating the iPhone 7
    3D Touch will be implemented in much more useful ways. Sure, TouchID was in the 5S, but the 6 is where it became much more interesting.
    Touch ID became more interesting through software, the same which ran on the 5S and 6 at the time. It wasn't until the 6s where new hardware, and new Touch ID 2, made it significantly faster.

    Likewise, unless the iPhone 7 has "3D Touch 2", any improvements to 3D Touch will be through software, and apply equally to this year and last year's devices.
    netmage
  • Reply 14 of 30
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    I suppose everyone does excited for the "non S" year, because typically it brings an all new case design. This year will probably be no exception...there will be physical, exterior changes. However, I'm not sure they will be dramatic changes. Apple finally got it right with the curved aluminum shell with glass that rounds into the curve. They may ditch the headphone jack for a better microphone array and other internal improvements, but I don't expect the 7 to look dramatically different than the 6, as previous redesigns have.

    Does anyone expect the 7 to be dramatically different from 6 in terms of exterior design?
  • Reply 15 of 30
    pmz said:
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    OLED screen would be one.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    pmz said:
    3D Touch will be implemented in much more useful ways. Sure, TouchID was in the 5S, but the 6 is where it became much more interesting.
    Touch ID became more interesting through software, the same which ran on the 5S and 6 at the time. It wasn't until the 6s where new hardware, and new Touch ID 2, made it significantly faster.

    Likewise, unless the iPhone 7 has "3D Touch 2", any improvements to 3D Touch will be through software, and apply equally to this year and last year's devices.
    Yes, I forgot the part where Apple Pay is on the 5S natively.
  • Reply 17 of 30
    pmz said:
    I suppose everyone does excited for the "non S" year, because typically it brings an all new case design. This year will probably be no exception...there will be physical, exterior changes. However, I'm not sure they will be dramatic changes. Apple finally got it right with the curved aluminum shell with glass that rounds into the curve. They may ditch the headphone jack for a better microphone array and other internal improvements, but I don't expect the 7 to look dramatically different than the 6, as previous redesigns have.

    Does anyone expect the 7 to be dramatically different from 6 in terms of exterior design?
    Unless Apple removes the home button & somehow integrates TouchID into the screen or the bezel, I don't see how it will be dramatically different looking, other than it being maybe thinner, lighter, and possibly using different materials.  Currently, I'm using an iPhone 6S Plus, which is a fantastic device & I prefer staying on the S cycle anyways.  
    pmz
  • Reply 18 of 30
    wood1208 said:
    "TSMC is planning to begin volume production of 16-nanometer FinFET process chips in the second quarter of 2016, the report said." Earlier drum-beating report of TSMC getting all the iphone 7 A10 processor manufacturing contract and has somehow pulled-in 10nm chip fabrication for A10 which all along I doubted based on their history/track record.
    I agree with you, but I am also amazed that regardless whether it's 10 or 16 nm, that's still smaller then viruses, How in the world can they do that!
    1983
  • Reply 19 of 30
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    With only about 40%-ish of the installed based upgraded to a 6 or 6s series, I would say that there is a large number very interested in what the iPhone 7 series has to offer.  Apple does their homework, and they know that the camera is one of the most used functions of the smartphone, so expect that they will always make this a priority with what the technology of the day allows.  So any step-jump in functionality with a dual-lense will definitely generate excitement for upgrades.  Hopefully this is available across the line, and not just in a limited edition of the +.

    What else beyond that though, aside from the CPU & GPU performance improvements, cellular improvements, etc (all good enough reasons for someone with a 3-4 year old device to upgrade to)?  One of these days I am hoping for enough CPU & DSP in their customer silicon to house a "local Siri" function that can do the voice recognition locally & determine if the request is to do something local on the phone, or it is a request that requires "the cloud" to answer.  This would provide a significant differentiator from competitor devices & finally might make Siri as useful as Apple markets it to be.  Not sure that will be in the next release though, with no leaks in this direction.
    patchythepirate
  • Reply 20 of 30
    pmz said:
     highly anticipated "iPhone 7" launch.
    At the risk of sounding like a troll....what is so "highly anticipated" about the iPhone 7? We've reached a point with the iPhone 6s where the phone is so good, that improving upon it in a meaningful way is...difficult. I've upgrade my phone every single year without fail, from iPhone 1 through iPhone 6s. I'm always taking delivery on launch weekend.

    But, can any iPhone 6s owner really say that they are "highly anticipating" the iPhone 7?
    Highly anticipated by me as I am really hoping for a fully waterproof phone . I will buy one for each of my kids and myself day one.
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