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TSMC Reportedly in Charge of A8X Chip Production for 12.9-Inch iPad [Updated]

Wednesday October 15, 2014 12:55 am PDT by Richard Padilla
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has landed the contract to produce Apple's A8X chip that will be featured in the company's forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad, according to Digitimes. The report notes that the processors will be intended for "Apple's next-generation iPad to be released in early 2015," and lines up with a report earlier year from Taiwan's TechNews which shared similar details.

logicboarda8x
Apple's A8X chip as seen on a supposed logic board for the iPad Air 2

Sources close to the production of the A8X also state that the chip is being manufactured with the same 20-nanometer process used for the A8 chip that is found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, the report also notes that the A8X's bigger system-on-a-chip may create potential yield rate issues for TSMC.

Recent part leaks have indicated that the A8X chip will likely debut with the iPad Air 2, which is expected to be unveiled alongside the next-generation Retina iPad mini at an event this Thursday.

It is unknown as to whether the company will also unveil the 12.9-inch iPad at the event, however the The Wall Street Journal noted that Apple was delaying mass production of the 12.9-inch iPad to deal with strong iPhone 6 Plus demand. A report from Bloomberg in August also claimed that the 12.9-inch iPad would be launching in 2015.

Update: While the report was presumed to be referring to the rumored 12.9-inch iPad based on the expectation the device will be "released in early 2015", it is possible it could actually be referring to the second-generation iPad Air, which is all but confirmed to be unveiled tomorrow and has already been seen to carry the A8X chip in leaked logic board photos.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iPad
Buyer's Guide: 12.9" iPad Pro (Buy Now), iPad (Don't Buy)
[ 83 comments ]


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Nozuka
59 months ago
i really hope they are planning some big changes to iOS to make better use of the big screen...
Rating: 16 Votes
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BvizioN
59 months ago

More and more rumors about delays.... Doesn't look good for early adopters....


Take it with a pinch of salt. 6+ was to be delayed according to rumours...well, until the day it was announced.
Rating: 10 Votes
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marioguarneros
59 months ago

You can now; ftp, sftp, webdav.. it's called Transmit in the iOS App store.. They've been around fooooreeeever.. on Mac and iOS ... Yup, you sure know your stuff! That hole research thing really shows... :o

http://panic.com/transmit-ios/

No Jailbreaking required.


It is mentioned right there in their website that this was just possible since iOS 8.

"To be honest, we’d always resisted the idea of bringing Transmit to iOS. In a brave new world where apps could only see their own files, it just didn’t make sense to us.

Then, Apple announced iOS 8.

The first cool new thing: in iOS 8, the system Share sheet can be extended by apps. So when viewing a photo, if you hit the Share button, you’ll see a brand-new choice: Transmit. That photo can be instantly sent to your own private file server, website, or S3 bucket.

Second, iOS 8 adds an extensible Document Picker, enabling Transmit to extend the open & save capabilities of other apps. That lets you open files directly off servers for editing. And when you save, changes go back to your server, too. It’s seamless. Third-party apps will be upgraded to support this soon.

In short, it’s time for Transmit iOS.

Besides extending parts of iOS 8, Transmit is a powerful standalone app as well. Launch it and you get a beautiful, fast, full-featured file manager. Upload and download files. Rename. Make folders. Change permissions. Edit. Preview. It’s all in there, and just as smooth as ever."

And that still doesn't solve all that I mentioned. Plus what is the need to launch sarcastic attacks? When did I say I made a full research?

I simply don't get it why so many people here are just ready to attack other users, do you feel better about yourself insulting people over the Internet or what's the deal?

I've been using Panic's desktop FTP for a while and it is nice to see them bringing it to iOS, it would have been very nice of you to just share the link, there was no need for your sarcasm, but thanks anyway.
Rating: 10 Votes
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sampaul
59 months ago
I really hope TSMC doesn't go bankrupt in the near future. :p
Rating: 8 Votes
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r-m
59 months ago
I'm looking forward to seeing 9 icon folders on the 12.9 inch iPad!
Rating: 7 Votes
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LFCYNWA
59 months ago

Take it with a pinch of salt. 6+ was to be delayed according to rumours...well, until the day it was announced.


I hope you are right! I WANT ONE
Rating: 5 Votes
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Batman89
59 months ago
inb4 13 inch iPad doesn't exist.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Pressure
59 months ago

I hope this thing is 16:10. If it's 4:3 then lol.


Why would you want less resolution?
Rating: 4 Votes
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MentalFloss
59 months ago

The Apple watch and the 13" iPad are two products literally nobody ever asked for.


I asked for the watch. And I have seen people in the forums who want a 13" iPad. So it is literally quite obvious, that you are literally wrong, according to the literal definition of the word "nobody".
Rating: 4 Votes
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Teste
59 months ago
LOL Digitimes :rolleyes:

I wish MacRumors would add tags with the source of each rumor, so with one click we would be able to see all rumors from a given source and thus easily appraise its credibility (or lack of).
Rating: 4 Votes

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