Qualcomm Finally Fixed The Snapdragon 810

Qualcomm and TSMC have reportedly worked out overheating issues on the Snapdragon 810.

Qualcomm never publicly admitted that the chip experienced the problems to begin with, but the rumour mill has been in overdrive for a while. Leaked LG Flex 2 benchmarks also suggested that something could be wrong, since the chip failed to impress.

The problem apparently caused the Snapdragon 810 to overheat at peak clocks and throttle, compromising performance. Such problems surfaced in some mobile devices in the past, namely the Nexus 4, but were the result of poor design decisions, not chip faults.

The latest rumors from China suggest that Qualcomm and TSMC managed to resolve the throttling issue. The info was apparently leaked to a Chinese analyst by a TSMC insider, but the reports are rather vague. The source said the revised Snapdragon 810 is expected to go into volume production by mid-March.

If true, this means the “fixed” chip is still not available for integration and may have an effect on product launches over the next few weeks, namely on devices which are expected to launch at the Mobile World Congress next month.

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Is Qualcomm Losing Steam?

Qualcomm is one of the most successful companies to come out of the smartphone revolution that’s taking place. That’s because their mobile chips are powering many of the devices currently on the market.

The company’s successful strategy was once again confirmed by the latest financial statements with profit estimates between $26 and $28 billion for the full fiscal year. But not everything’s rosy inside Qualcomm as the company did mention they recently lost “a large customer”.

Who could that be? Why, none other than their frenemy, Samsung. Qualcomm’s statement seems to corroborate an earlier report that said Samsung would no longer be sourcing the high-end Snapdragon 810 chip from Qualcomm.

According to the original report, which seems to be all but confirmed now, Samsung experienced overheating issues with the high-end silicone and decided to drop it from its upcoming Galaxy S6 flagship.

Qualcomm’s execs on the other hand said their chip works exactly as intended and they offer proof of that the fact the Snapdragon 810 has already been confirmed to be in LG’s next flagship, and is expected to show up in a number of other devices including the unannounced HTC M9.

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TSMC’s FinFet Coming In 2015?

TSMC has announced that it will begin volume production of 16nm FinFET products in the second half of 2015, in late Q2 or early Q3.

For consumers, this means products based on TSMC 16nm FinFET silicon should appear in late 2015 and early 2016. The first TSMC 16nm FinFET product was announced a few weeks ago.

TSMC executive CC Wei said sales of 16nm FinFET products should account for 7-9% of the foundry’s total revenue in Q4 2015. The company already has more than 60 clients lined up for the new process and it expects 16nm FinFET to be its fastest growing process ever.

Although TSMC is not talking about the actual clients, we already know the roster looks like the who’s who of tech, with Qualcomm, AMD, Nvidia and Apple on board.

This also means the 20nm node will have a limited shelf life. The first 20nm products are rolling out as we speak, but the transition is slow and if TSMC sticks to its schedule, 20nm will be its top node for roughly a year, giving it much less time on top than earlier 28nm and 40nm nodes.

The road to 10nm

TSMC’s 16nm FinFET, or 16FinFET, is just part of the story. The company hopes to tape out the first 10nm products in 2015, but there is no clear timeframe yet.

Volume production of 10nm products is slated for 2016, most likely late 2016. As transitions speed up, TSMC capex will go up. The company expects to invest more than $10bn in 2015, up from $9.6bn this year.

TSMC expects global smartphone shipments to reach 1.5bn units next year, up 19 percent year-on-year. Needless to say, TSMC silicon will power the majority of them.

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