TSMC to be sole manufacturer of Apple's A13 chip, new AirPods to debut this summer

Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup outran the competition when it came to most speed tests and benchmarks, thanks to its powerful A12X Bionic chipset that offered brilliant overall performance. While reports have suggested that the Cupertino tech company could stick to tradition and likely introduce three iPhones this year, Digitimes has now reported that Apple’s A13 chipset will be fabricated on a 7 nm process just like the previous iteration. [caption id=“attachment_5231551” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Apple iPhone XS.[/caption] As per the report, TSMC will be the sole supplier of A13 chip for the upcoming 2019 iPhone lineup. Notably, the Taiwanese semiconductor company has been the exclusive manufacturer for Apple’s processor since 2016. In its latest report, Digitimes said that the 7 nm A13 chipset’s volume production will begin in the second quarter of the year. The report further claimed that the new AirPods and iPads will be launched in the first half of 2019. The report didn’t specifically mention the exact month Apple’s new AirPods and iPads will debut, however, it previously noted that the revamped AirPods will have support for health features. Meanwhile, a related report from MySmartPrice recently suggested that the 2019 AirPods might use a new grip-inclined coating and come with enhanced audio quality. Apparently, the alleged iPhone 11 is also said to use a new grip coating on the rear glass as well, according to DroidShout. Apple’s upcoming iPhones models are said to embrace the notch-style design display that was first introduced on the company’s tenth-gen iPhone. Renders of the supposed iPhone 11 that surfaced this month tipped that the phone might come with the rumoured iOS 13 ‘Dark Mode.’ Additionally, **iPhone XS Max’s** successor is tipped to house the triple camera arrangement at the back, which is said to offer a ‘wider range of zoom’ and enable capturing a wider depth of field. As per reports, Apple could implement a new version of its Live Photos feature that might extend the length of video from three to six seconds. While details about the Apple’s A13 chip are scarce as of now (except for 7 nm fabrication), TSMC is expected to adopt 7 nm extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process for this year’s chipset.