Apple, by all accounts, is TSMC’s most lucrative client, which would mean that both entities would draft and sign exclusive deals that would not be available to any other company, with a recent report claiming that any defective 3nm wafers would not be billed to Apple, saving it billions. However, one analyst has refuted these claims, stating that the company is billed according to the finished goods.
TSMC does not absorb the price of its defective 3nm wafers but will adjust it in the finished product, which would be the A17 Bionic
Apple has been reported to only pay the price of good dies rather than defective ones in a report that claimed TSMC’s 3nm yield rate only stood at 55 percent. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has stepped forward and put out a post, saying that despite the unbreakable business relationship between the two companies, TSMC does not absorb the losses of defective wafers. Kuo says that companies buy chips from TSMC either in the form of finished goods or wafer purchases.
In Apple’s case, it would be finished goods, and that would be the A17 Bionic for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max and, eventually, the M3 for various Macs later this year. Instead of bearing the costs of defective wafers, TSMC adjusts those losses in the price of the finished goods, suggesting that Apple might be paying more for each A17 Bionic chip. With the A16 Bionic, it costs the California-based giant $110 apiece for each SoC, and with the A17 Bionic, that pricing difference could be more pronounced.
近期媒體報導台積電不向Apple要求支付3nm不良品成本與我的理解不同。
客戶向台積電採購晶片，大抵有兩種交易方式，分別是成品採購 (finished goods buy) 與晶圓採購 (wafer buy)。
絕大部分的採購方式都是晶圓採購，因為台積電的良率夠好，好到可以忽視不良品成本。…
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 9, 2023
Kuo states that evidence that Apple is paying a higher price for the 3nm A17 Bionic will be seen in the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max launch, which are said to be more expensive than the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. However, other factors can affect pricing, as it was always a guarantee that Apple would eventually have to charge more after a few years, global economic reasons being one of them.
If you have been following the rumor mill, you will know that both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro are reportedly launching with more exclusive features than their direct predecessors. This can also be a case of Apple charging customers more simply because it wants to profit off of its consumers’ propensity to want and try out the company’s latest and greatest offerings.
News Source: Ming-Chi Kuo
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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