Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundries have secured a combined 70% of orders for Apple's A9 processors with their 14nm FinFET technology, according to industry sources.
Samsung will be ready to produce 30,000-40,000 12-inch wafers monthly to meet demand on its 14nm process node, with the demand from both Apple and Samsung's own handset division, said the sources. Samsung will also be building its next-generation Exynos processor on its own 14nm process.
Globalfoundries will be used as a backup fab by Samsung for the manufacture of Apple's 14nm A9 chips, with the availability of production capacity estimated at 20,000-30,000 wafers monthly, the sources indicated.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which fabricates all of Apple's A8 chips for the iPhone 6 devices, will take up the remaining 30% of orders for Apple's next-generation A9 chips with its 16nm FinFET process, the sources noted.
In April 2014, Globalfoundries and Samsung announced their collaboration to deliver global capacity for 14nm FinFET process technology. The process was developed by Samsung and licensed to Globalfoundries.