The previous blog I did on the density difference between Intel 14nm and TSMC 20nm caused quite a stir and many interesting comments which I would like to address. After writing thousands of blogs on a wide variety of topics I have found that playing the devil’s advocate stimulates the most productive conversations and in this case… Read More
Intel Core M vs Apple A8!
There were two big announcements last week right in my backyard and I missed them both! Instead, I was in Taiwan investigating yet another big development and all three of these events will intersect next year, absolutely.
At IDF in San Francisco Intel outlined the new 14nm Core M. This is an impressive CPU, one that will fill the now… Read More
Intel CEO Misinformed on the Foundry Business
At the Citi Global Technology Conference last week Intel (INTC) CEO Brian Krzanich made some comments about the foundry business that I found quite misinformed. It will be interesting to see if this theme is repeated during the foundry presentations at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco this week:
Intel is presenting two… Read More
What Does Intel Look Like 10 Years From Now?
Intel (INTC) CEO Brian Krzanich keynoted the Citi Global Technology Conference last week. This was a precursor to the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco this week. Normally these types of events are scripted dog and pony shows but sometimes interesting information comes out. The first question for example:
What does Intel… Read More
Intel 14nm is NOT in Production Yet!
Okay, maybe I’m the only one questioning Intel 14nm yield but I think it will be an interesting discussion in the comments section. Here are the questions I would have asked Intel during their recent 14nm PR tour: Has the P1272 process been rolled out to the production fabs in OR, AZ, and Ireland? Is the process officially in production… Read More
Intel Versus TSMC 14nm Processes
Intel has begun to release some details on their 14nm process. I thought it would be interesting to contrast what Intel has disclosed to TSMC’s 16nm process disclosure from last year’s IEDM (TSMC calls their 14nm process 16nm).
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Who will Manufacture Apple’s Next SoC?
Just to review: The brain inside the current Apple iPhone 5s is the A7 SoC manufactured by Samsung using a 28nm process. The A6 (iPhone 5) and A5 (iPhone 4s) are based on Samsung 32nm. The rest of the Apple SoCs also used Samsung processes. I think we can all now agree that the coming Apple A8 SoC (iPhone 6) will use the TSMC 20nm process.… Read More
Will Intel Have a Bigger FinFET Market Share Than TSMC in 2015?
Speculation is running rampant after last month’s conference call where Dr. Morris Chang, who is often referred to as “The Chairman”, commented that at 16nm TSMC will have a smaller market share than a major competitor in 2015. TSMC will however regain the FinFET lead in 2016 and 2017. Of course the blogosphere went crazy on this … Read More
The Two Biggest Misses in Mobile
There are some interesting parallels between Intel and Microsoft. Both of them missed mobile. Actually they didn’t completely miss mobile, both of them had programs from early days. But clearly they both regarded mobile as a much lower priority: the PC was where all the money was and where it would continue to be forever.… Read More
The Leading Edge Foundry Landscape
There have been a lot of interesting announcements and presentations lately from the leading edge foundries. Looking at all of this information, a pretty interesting picture begins to emerge.
TSMC
TSMC is far and away the world’s largest foundry. In their 2014-Q2 conference call TSMC outlined their expectations for the balance… Read More