TSMC forecasts 10% revenue growth in iPhone X quarter; likely to fend off Samsung

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) says that it expects its revenues to grow by 10% during October to December, as the iPhone X goes on sale. It follows 28% growth in August in the run-up to the iPhone 8 launch.

TSMC is believed to be the sole supplier of the A11 chip used in this year’s iPhones, just as it was for the iPhone 7, and the company appears confident of fending off future competition from Samsung.

Earlier A-series chip production was split between TSMC and Samsung, but the Korean-made chips used in the iPhone 6s were found to cause the device to run hotter and offer poorer battery life.

Samsung is fighting hard to win back Apple’s business, but TSMC currently has a technical lead thanks to a 7nm process expected to be used in next year’s devices. Reuters reports that the Taiwanese company is not afraid of competition from Samsung or others.

We’ll continue to compete, of course, and maintain our market share.

There is uncertainty over the volume of this year’s iPhone sales, with mixed reports on iPhone 8 sales and varying expectations on the number of consumers willing to pay the premium price of the iPhone X. A report this morning claimed that Apple is cutting iPhone 8 production in half, though this could represent either good or bad news for the company.

iPhone X preorders open on October 27, with the first phones available on November 3.