A number of US states are reportedly competing over the location of a mysterious company known as Azalea.
Documents recently obtained by The Business Review describe the entity as a 3.2-million-square-foot semiconductor factory that could potentially employ at least 1,000 people who would be tasked with fabbing microprocessors for Apple’s iPhone and iPad.
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According to the EE Times, TSMC is likely the industry heavyweight behind the nascent project. Currently, Samsung builds all custom A-series processors powering Apple’s iOS lineup in an Austin, Texas plant, including the latest 32-nanometer A6 processor (iphone 5) and A6X (fourth-gen iPad).
Then again, Apple is said to be interested in moving away from Samsung, as it is currently mired in a number of patent suits with the company. Plus, TSMC’s 20-nanometer process make it an attractive choice for Cupertino.
In related Apple chip news, Rick Merritt of the EE Times recently speculated that Nvidia could develop ARM-powered chip stacks for Cupertino which would “make for some pretty interesting iMacs, Macbooks, and iPads.”
According to Merritt, Nvidia could lay two to four graphics chips down on a 2.5-D substrate using through silicon vias to create an ultra powerful graphics-card-on-a -chip driving a muscular iMac.
“It might even add a memory chip to the mix to create a device with fast memory access, good for either an iMac or Macbook,” Merrit explained.
“What’s more, Nvidia could place one of its new Project Denver ARM cores next to a graphics chip and maybe some memory to enable a high performance, low power Macbook running iOS. A low cost iOS laptop could leapfrog anything we have seen to date out of the Windows 8 crowd.”
Meritt also noted that Apple may supply its A-series SoC to Nvidia – with the company adding graphics and memory to a stack for a high-end iPad.
“It would create a novel premium product injecting fresh life into tablets at the high end, putting more distance between Apple and its growing Android tablet competitors,” he added.