Apple Adds Chip Supplier ⇥ online.wsj.com

Jessica Lessin, Wall Street Journal:

This month, after years of technical delays, Apple finally signed a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make some of the chips starting in 2014, according to a TSMC executive. The process had been beset by glitches preventing the chips from meeting Apple’s speed and power standards, TSMC officials said.

Despite the deal, Samsung will remain the primary supplier through next year, one of these executives said.

There are three takeaways from this article, if you’re the type to believe anonymous sources in the Journal. First, there’s this:

TSMC plans to start mass-producing the chips early next year using advanced “20-nanometer” technology, which makes the chips potentially smaller and more energy-efficient.

The A6 uses a 32 nanometre process. This could mean huge battery life improvements in a future iPhone model. The 2013 MacBook Air and some of the features of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks underscore Apple’s renewed emphasis on battery life. Good news.

The second takeaway is what this means for Samsung. According to IC Insights, around 83% of Samsung’s 2012 processor revenue was generated by Apple’s orders.

The third takeaway is the Journal’s consistent ragging on Apple’s ass. The headline for this article:

Apple Finds It Difficult to Divorce Samsung

Why not simply state what I stated — that Apple added another supplier? Why spin it? It’s the same story throughout the article. The Journal has been delivering linkbait like this for a while.