According to a report from TechNews, citing Nikkei, Apple is reportedly in talks with Foxconn to manufacture AI servers in Taiwan as part of its strategy to capture a larger share of the booming generative AI market.

However, according to Nikkei, while Foxconn is Apple’s largest iPhone manufacturing partner, it also produces AI servers for NVIDIA, which could limit its capacity to take on Apple’s AI server orders.

The Nikkei report highlights that Apple prefers to use its own chips for building servers that will power generative AI features in MacBooks and other devices. Citing industry sources, the report stated that Apple is exploring the production of its own AI servers and has been in talks with Foxconn. However, the volume of servers Apple is considering producing is relatively low compared to the demand for NVIDIA’s GB200 servers.

The report suggests that Apple wants Foxconn to produce AI servers in Taiwan to take advantage of Taiwan’s engineering talent and R&D resources. Apple, with less experience in designing data center servers compared to NVIDIA, may require additional support for the production of its AI servers.

The report notes that as mastering AI computing and expanding data center infrastructure become critical to next-generation computing, Apple is enhancing its server capabilities in response to heavy investments in AI data centers by rivals such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

According to the Nikkei report citing sources, with Foxconn occupied with fulfilling orders for NVIDIA servers, Apple has turned to China’s Lenovo and its subsidiary LCFC for additional support, along with smaller suppliers like Universal Scientific Industrial to assist with production. Additionally, Apple’s discussions with Lenovo also include plans to build server production capability in Southeast Asia, outside of China.

The report highlights that building AI servers is more complex than anticipated, and currently only a few manufacturers worldwide are capable of producing NVIDIA’s AI servers, including Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, and Supermicro. However, the production capacities of these manufacturers are largely contracted by NVIDIA.

On the other hand, according to TechNews, institutional investors pointed out that Foxconn has production capacity in multiple regions worldwide, and given the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, Apple’s AI servers may not necessarily need to be manufactured in Taiwan.

The report from TechNews further noted, citing institutional investors, that the current discussion between Apple and Foxconn may still be in the early stages. However, due to their long-standing partnership, even if Apple’s order volume is relatively small, Foxconn is likely to accept the production of Apple’s AI servers.

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(Photo credit: Foxconn)

Apple announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, which ended on September 28. According to a report from Commercial Times, the company achieved record revenue for this period, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations.

In its press release, Apple indicated that revenue rose by 6 percent year over year, reaching USD 94.9 billion.

According to its press release, the company’s net income fell due to a one-time charge related to a tax decision in Europe. The quarterly diluted earnings per share were USD 0.97. However, when excluding this one-time tax charge related to the reversal of the European General Court’s State Aid, diluted earnings per share was USD 1.64, an increase of 12% year over year.

According to a report from CNBC, revenue from iPhone increased by 6%, making up about 49% of the company’s overall sales. The report quoted Apple CEO Tim Cook, who noted that sales of iPhone 15 were stronger than those of iPhone 14 in the same quarter last year, and that iPhone 16 is performing even better than iPhone 15. Additionally, Cook highlighted the positive feedback for Apple Intelligence, which launched this week.

Furthermore, its press release also mentioned that its services revenue reaches new all-time high. According to CNBC, Apple’s services segment, which encompasses online subscriptions like iCloud, revenue from Google searches, and AppleCare warranties for its hardware, experienced a 12% year-over-year growth, reaching nearly USD 25 billion in sales.

Apple’s CFO, Luca Maestri, stated that the company’s record business performance in the September quarter generated nearly USD 27 billion in operating cash flow, enabling them to return more than USD 29 billion to shareholders.

On the other hand, the CNBC report noted that as Apple faces renewed competition from local Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, its revenue in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong declined slightly year over year to USD 15.03 billion.

According to the report from CNBC, Apple expected sales growth of low to mid-single digits in the December quarter.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

According to a report from Wccftech, Google is rumored to switch to TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, “N3E”, for its Tensor G5. The report also claims that for the Tensor G6, Google will utilize TSMC’s “N3P” process instead of the 2nm process speculated earlier. Its entire Pixel 10 series set to be launched next year will use TSMC’s 3nm process.

The report suggests that the Tensor G4 processor may be the last Google chipset manufactured by Samsung using its 4nm process, since the Tensor G4 reportedly offers only a slight upgrade compared to the Tensor G3 in the Pixel 8 smartphone, as it continues to use Samsung’s older FO-PLP packaging technology instead of the newer FO-WLP packaging, which is more capable in preventing overheating.

Notably, the report states that Qualcomm and MediaTek have also adopted the 3nm “N3E” process for their Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400 chipsets for the first time this year, having bridged the technological gap with Apple.

Therefore, the report notes that Google will still be a year behind in the competition when it announces the Tensor G5 and Tensor G6, since Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Apple are already using TSMC’s 3nm process and are expected to shift to N3P.

According to the report, the Tensor G5 was reported to have reached the tape-out stage earlier this year and is expected to use TSMC’s InFO-POP packaging, which allows the chipset’s packaging to be smaller and also more power efficient.

Regarding Tensor G6, it will likely launch two years from now. Although it was previously rumored that Tensor G6 will use TSMC’s 2nm process, the report indicates that it will instead utilize TSMC’s enhanced version of 3nm, N3P node.

According to a report from AnandTech, as a more enhanced process node compared to N3E, N3P offers better performance with higher transistor density and reduced power consumption.

The report indicates that it makes sense that Google is not opting to adopt the 2nm process immediately, especially since even Apple is expected to wait until the launch of the iPhone 18, two years from now, to introduce its first A-series chipsets that will exceed the 3nm barrier. Additionally, it is expected that the 2nm A-series chipsets will not be included in all iPhone 18 models due to their high cost.

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(Photo credit: Google)

Samsung’s next-generation flagship phone, the Galaxy S25 series, is set to debut in three months. According to current market rumors, the lineup will still include the S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra models. In addition, Samsung is expected to release a “lite flagship” version, the Galaxy S25 FE. As reported by SamMobile, the S25 FE will be powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity chipset and is slated for release by the end of next year.

Prior to this report, there had been widespread speculation that MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 would be used in the Galaxy S25 series launching early next year.

However, a recent update from SamMobile, citing @Jukanlosreve on platform X, revealed that the negotiations between Samsung and MediaTek, which initially aimed to include the Dimensity chip in the Galaxy S25, have shifted to placing the Dimensity chip in the S25 FE instead.

The latest information suggests that only the S25 FE will feature the MediaTek Dimensity chipset, while the rest of the S25 series will exclusively run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors.

@Jukanlosreve did not specify the exact model of the chipset for the S25 FE, but SamMobile speculates that it will be the Dimensity 9400, MediaTek’s latest fourth-generation flagship mobile chipset, built on TSMC’s 3nm process, designed to compete with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite.

(Photo credit: MediaTek)

Rumors suggest that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 models will adopt a dual-chipset strategy by adopting MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400. This approach is intended to lessen the company’s dependence on Qualcomm and to reduce its chipset costs, according to a report from Wccftech.

While neither Samsung nor MediaTek have confirmed this information, it may have been inadvertently revealed by Google in its blog post, Wccftech notes. In a blog article released by Google DeepMind at the end of September, the progress of AlphaChip, which is the AI division of Google, was discussed, emphasizing how it accelerates and optimizes chip design.

Notably, the article suggests the potential collaboration between Samsung and MediaTek, according to Wccftech.

Although the article does not explicitly mention MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 or the Galaxy S25 series, it does mention the Dimensity Flagship 5G. This could imply the Dimensity 9400 and the Galaxy S25 series, since the Galaxy S24 series does not currently feature any high-end MediaTek chipsets.

As per a report from TechNews, the Dimensity 9400 has been officially launched today (October 9th), while the Galaxy S25 series is expected to be unveiled early next year, aligning with the details mentioned in the blog article released by Google DeepMind.

It is worth noting that Samsung is initially expected to integrate some of the new Galaxy S25 models with its own Exynos 2500. However, according to Wccftech, due to the unstable yield rates of the 3 nm GAA process, Samsung not only struggled to attract potential consumers but also faced the possibility of delaying the launch schedule for its new flagship chipset.

Nevertheless, as suggested by Wccftech, the Exynos 2500 might not be abandoned. Rumors indicate that it might be used in its ‘price to performance’ Galaxy S25 FE, along with its future foldable smartphones.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)