Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level packaging technology is about to enter its second generation, which is expected to bring more competitiveness to the foundry's 7nm FinFET process technology.
It is unlikely Samsung will be able to regain application processors orders for Apple's iPhone, as TSMC's in-house developed InFO wafer-level packaging will make the Taiwan-based foundry's 7nm FinFET technology more competitive than Samsung's, according to industry observers.
Samsung has grabbed Apple's A9 chip orders for the new 9.7-inch iPads introduced earlier in 2017. TSMC, which is already the sole supplier of Apple's 10nm A11 chips for the upcoming iPhones, will still likely obtain all of the next-generation A-series chip orders for Apple's 2018 series of iPhones with its 7nm FinFET process.
Samsung is aggressively vying for 7nm chip orders from Apple. Several media reports from Korea indicated Samsung is expected to grab part of the A-series orders for the 2018 series of iPhones.
With Samsung still being the sole OLED supplier for iPhone, the company could persuade Apple to have Samsung share part of the iPhone orders in 2018, according to the reports. A Korea Herald report claimed Samsung's co-CEO Kwon Oh-hyun during his visit to Apple's headquarters in June had helped the company win the deal.