The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Samsung shifts Apple A5 chip production to Texas

A $3.6bn $9bn investment

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Apple's A5 chips are now being made in Texas, not Asia as was its predecessor the A4, according to a report from Reuters, citing "people familiar with the operation".

The chips that power the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S areproduced by Apple's smartphone competitor Samsung in its huge fab in Austin, capital of the Oil State. Samsung previously made iOS-powering silicon in its South Korea facility.

The devices that the A5 powers are still being assembled by Foxconn in China.

The 1.6 million square foot factory cost $3.6bn, but the total investment is closer to $9bn, according to Austin Chamber of Commerce, making it the largest foreign investment in Texas. According to Reuters, the fab ramped up to full production at the beginning of December.

Samsung makes the chips for Apple based on designs from two UK firms, ARM and Imagination Technologies. The chip contains a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU and an Imagination PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU. ®

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

The county can waive or reduce property taxes. If you did your homework you would also realize that AMD, Intel and Freescale are also here.

4
0

Playing the "patriotic" card?

Just imagine the press release: "Apple suing Samsung threatens American jobs"

Just a thought...

3
0

Also

Less chance of floods disrupting production.

2
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Review: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
Missing Mac ports reunited, for a price
 breaking news
Australian 'Apple tax' repealed for MacBook Air
But the new MacPro is priced at a premium