TSMC to start manufacture of Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processors

TSMC, the company known for manufacturing the A11 Bionic chip for Apple, is to start production of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processors, according to a report. The report in the Nikkei Asian Review suggests that TSMC has bagged the contract to manufacture the core processor and modem chip for Qualcomm's next flagship chip.

The report quotes Qualcomm executive as saying 'Qualcomm is engaging TSMC to roll out a modem chip very soon in the first half of 2018 and TSMC will manufacture the mobile giant's upcoming flagship Snapdragon processor, known as Snapdragon 855, before the end of next year.' 

Qualcomm and TSMC had earlier worked together for the production of Snapdragon 808 and the 810, but the Snapdragon 810 had drawn heavy criticism for overheating. The report also indicated that the new SoC will use TSMC's 7 nanometer technology, and the same tech will be used for Apple phones set to launch in 2018.

Huawei's Kirin 970 and Apple's A11 both feature a dedicated chip to handle AI based algorithms which software makers are relying on heavily to improve everything from camera to voice recognition. Though there are AI optimisations on the Snapdragon 845, it is limited to the architecture and improved task scheduling.