Industry sources cited by a report from Economic Daily News have indicated that Apple is accelerating the development of its foldable device, moving up the expected launch from 2026 to 2025. Apple has reportedly placed orders for flexible panels from Samsung, with plans for the foldable device to debut with the iPad before expanding to the iPhone.

Moreover, the smartphone market leader is said to have already secured a supply of flexible panels from Samsung in the first half of this year, hinting at its determination to enter the foldable market.

Hinges are expected to be the most crucial and newly added component for Apple’s foldable device, experiencing a surge in demand. Shin Zu Shing, Taiwanese supplier for foldable smartphone hinges, having cooperated with Apple in the field for many years, stands to benefit greatly.

In addition,  other Taiwanese Apple supply chain partners, including Foxconn, Largan Precision, and Pegatron, are anticipated to benefit similarly as with existing iPad and iPhone production. The aforementioned Apple suppliers typically refrain from commenting on individual customer and order dynamics.

A report from SamMobile also indicated that, Apple may have signed a contract with Samsung Display (SDC) for the supply of foldable displays. It is estimated in the same report that limited supplies will begin in 2025, ramping up to mass production in 2026. By 2027, the supply is expected to reach 65 million units, increasing to 100 million units in 2028.

Additionally, the ordered display sizes are larger than those of existing iPhones, indicating that the display components procured by Apple from Samsung will be used in new foldable device products.

Industry sources cited in the report from Economic Daily News believe that Apple’s first foldable device will be unveiled by the end of 2025 or early 2026, targeting the ultra-high-end market segment. It is expected to come in two sizes: 7.9 inches and 8.3 inches, competing against foldable devices from Samsung and Huawei.

According to the analysis released by TrendForce in the second half of last year, Apple’s development in the folding field still requires time. Apple’s foray into foldables has been tepid, to say the least.

TrendForce reports that global shipments of foldable phones reached 15.9 million units in 2023, marking a 25% YoY increase and accounting for approximately 1.4% of the overall smartphone market. In 2024, shipments are expected to rise to about 17.7 million units, growing by 11% and slightly increasing the market share to 1.5%. However, this growth rate remains below market expectations, with the segment’s share predicted to exceed 2% only by 2025.

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• [News] Apple Reportedly Joins the Foldable Phone Market, Setting Stage for Three-Way Competition

(Photo credit: Apple)

According to a report from Korean media The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung Electronics Co. is planning to apply its 3nm process chips to its Galaxy series smartphones and smartwatches, posing a challenge to rivals Apple and TSMC.

The report cited industry sources on May 13th, stating that Samsung’s second-generation 3nm production line in South Korea is set to commence operations in the latter half of this year (2024). The first product to be manufactured on this line will reportedly be the application processor (AP) for the upcoming Galaxy Watch7, tentatively named “Exynos W1000,” which is expected to be unveiled in July.

As per the same report citing sources, the Exynos W1000 is set to utilize the semiconductor industry’s most advanced second-generation 3nm process, with computing performance and power efficiency expected to increase by over 20%. In comparison, the Apple Watch Series 9 utilizes a 5nm application processor.

On another note, industry sources cited by the same report revealed that Samsung’s next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S25, scheduled for an early 2025 release, will also feature the 3nm Exynos W1000 application processor. Samsung aims to unveil this technology ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics opening on July 26th, with a “Galaxy Unpacked” event scheduled for July 10th in Paris.

The mobile processor industry has entered the 3nm battleground. Per Wccftech’s previous report, it is rumored that TSMC’s N3E process is also used for producing products like the A18 Pro chip scheduled to be used in iPhone 16 Pro, the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, and the MediaTek Dimensity 9400, among other major clients’ products.

Meanwhile, as per a report from another South Korean media outlet TheElec, Siyoung Choi, the President of Samsung’s Foundry Business, predicted during the annual shareholders’ meeting on March 20th that the second-generation 3nm process is expected to begin production in the latter half of this year, while production for the 2nm process is slated for next year.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)

Apple has released its supply chain list for the 2023 fiscal year, with notable changes compared to the 2022 list. According to a report from CNA, Major IC substrate manufacturer Nan Ya PCB has returned to Apple’s supply chain list, while Nanya Technology, Lotes, Novatek are no longer included. TSMC, Foxconn, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), Pegatron, Compal, Wistron, and YAGEO remain part of Apple’s supply chain.

Apple’s 2023 fiscal year supply chain list covers approximately 98% of the materials, manufacturing, and assembly related to Apple products globally.

Compared to the 2022 supply chain list, for Foxconn, the updated list shows manufacturing locations for Apple products in Guangdong, Henan, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang provinces in China, with the addition of Jiangxi while Hubei continues to be excluded. In other global regions, locations in Amazonas and Sao Paulo in Brazil, as well as California in the United States, are not included in the current list. However, locations in Tamil Nadu, India, and Bac Giang province, Vietnam, remain on the list.

For ASE, related locations include Jiangsu and Shanghai in China, Yamagata Prefecture in Japan, Taiwan, and Hai Phong City in Vietnam, with Gyeonggi-do in South Korea and Singapore continuing to be excluded.

Notably, companies including FPGA designer Lattice Semiconductor’s facility in Taiwan, Nanya’s facilities in Jiangsu and Taiwan, Lotes Terminal’s facility in Guangdong, Novatek Microelectronics and Taiwanese company Triotek Technology Incorporated are no longer parts of Apple’s supply chain for the fiscal year 2023.

On the other hand, major IC substrate manufacturer Nan Ya PCB, with facilities in Jiangsu, China, and Taiwan, has returned to Apple’s supply chain list. Golden Arrow Printing Company, with locations in Jiangsu, China, and Henan Province, Vietnam, is a new addition to Apple’s supply chain list.

Regarding Taiwanese companies that were first included in Apple’s supply chain list in 2022, including Platinum Optics Technology Incorporated, Primax Electronics Limited with locations in Guangdong, Radiant Opto-Electronics Corporation with locations in Guangdong and Jiangsu, Trinseo in Taiwan, and Winbond Electronics Corporation, these companies remain on Apple’s supply chain list for the 2023 fiscal year.

Furthermore, major Taiwanese companies such as TSMC, Catcher, Foxlink, Compal, Compeq, Delta Electronics, Largan Precision, Lite-On Technology Corporation, Pegatron, Shin Zu Shing, TXC Corporation, Unimicron Technology Corporation, Unitech, Wistron, and YAGEO continue to be included in Apple’s supply chain list.

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(Photo credit: Apple)

Apple currently uses TSMC’s 3-nanometer process for multiple chipsets. According to a report from wccftech, the iPhone 17 chipset will not adopt the 2-nanometer process. Instead, the A19 Pro chip, expected in 2025, is reportedly maintaining the 3-nanometer technology.

The same report suggests that the Apple A19 Pro chip is considering TSMC’s N3P process and may be featured in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. TSMC aims to ramp up its 3-nanometer wafer capacity to 100,000 units by the end of 2024.

TSMC began trial production of 2-nanometer chips as early as June 2023. However, Apple’s A18 Pro chip for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max might use the N3E process. As for next year’s iPhone 17, its A19 Pro chip is likely to adopt TSMC’s N3P technology.

As per MoneyDJ’s report, it is currently expected that Apple’s iPhone 18 series, slated for release in 2026, will feature the first-ever 2-nanometer chip. Besides Apple, other 2-nanometer customers include Intel, with interest also anticipated from AMD, NVIDIA, and MediaTek. Looking at the process roadmap, this year’s iPhone 16 will use N3E, while next year’s model will adopt N3P. Thus, the first consumer product leveraging TSMC’s 2nm process is anticipated to launch in 2026.

Meanwhile, Apple is said to be striving to stay ahead of competitors and exploring alternative packaging technologies like 3DFabric with its foundry partner. A rumor from the account Yeux1122 has suggested that Apple is already delving into SoIC (Small Outline Integrated Circuit) packaging.

In a bid to reduce dependence on China, Apple significantly expanded its production volume in India, doubling iPhone production last year. Foxconn, which holds the largest share in iPhone assembly, accounted for a substantial 67% of this increased production.

Bloomberg reported on April 10th that Apple’s iPhone production value in India reached USD 14 billion over the last fiscal year, doubling from the previous year’s USD 7 billion. Sources cited by the same report have revealed that approximately 1 in 7 iPhones, or up to 14% of total production, are now manufactured in India. This expansion in Indian production signals Apple’s accelerated efforts to reduce reliance on China amid heightened geopolitical tensions.

Per the sources cited by the same report, nearly 67% of iPhones produced in India last year were assembled by Taiwan’s Foxconn, while Pegatron accounted for about 17%. The remaining share was manufactured at a plant in Karnataka state by Wistron, which sold the facility to Tata Group in 2023.

As per a Reuters report on April 8, contract manufacturer Pegatron was said to be in talks to sell its sole iPhone assembly plant located in Chennai to Tata Group, and discussions were in advanced stages. However, regarding this matter, Pegatron claimed that this report was speculative and lacked evidence, declining to comment further.

Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu in India, stands as the largest industrial and commercial hub in South India. Pegatron’s sole factory in India is located here, employing approximately 10,000 workers and producing around 5 million iPhones annually.

Among the four iPhone 15 series models, only certain models like iPhone15 and iPhone15 plus are produced by Tata Group in India.

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• [News] Rumors of Selling Indian iPhone Assembly Plant? Pegatron Denies Media Speculation
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(Photo credit: Foxconn)