Apple’s iPhone 7 is expected in September, and, in advance of that launch, Apple’s suppliers are spinning the wheels and boxing up parts, ready to get them to Apple’s manufacturing partners for assembly. DigiTimes said that’s now happening with the new A10 processor.
According to the news outlet, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the firm in charge of building the processors for the iPhone 7, is ready to start shipping A10 processors “soon.” DigiTimes cited a report from Taiwan’s Central News Agency, which suggested that TSMC is also expecting to see a 20-percent bump in revenues thanks to the A10 shipments and to VR “solutions” that TSMC is also building. The VR products are likely unrelated to the iPhone 7 or A10 processors.
This is important, because Apple needs these parts in order to build iPhones and to make sure there are enough to meet demand at launch. TSMC is reportedly the exclusive supplier of the chips, which means any roadblocks can’t be offloaded to another manufacturer. A slowdown or delay in processor shipment could ultimately lead to delays in the iPhone landing in your hands. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?