Apple raised prices on older iPhones by $100 after its latest launch, changing the usual strategy for buyers waiting for previous models to get cheaper.
Apple raised prices on older iPhones by $100 after its latest launch, changing the usual strategy for buyers waiting for previous models to get cheaper.
Leading chipmakers Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced plans to adopt ASMLβs latest chipmaking machines in the next several yearsβand they also joined Intel in agreeing to a crucial technology change that could boost chip production on the new machines by 40 percent.
This signifies the semiconductor industryβs broader embrace of high NA EUV photolithography technology that can cost up to $400 million per machine and is only provided by the Dutch technology company ASML, Bloomberg reports. The technology would allow chip designers to implement even smaller features in potentially more powerful and efficient next-generation chips produced for AI data centers and consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
ASMLβs EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography machines enable chipmakers to use powerful laser light to imprint patterns in silicon wafers, layer by layer, and gradually form the computer circuitry that makes silicon chips work. Compared to older deep ultraviolet lithography, EUV technology harnesses a more powerful source of light with a shorter wavelength to create even smaller features on silicon wafers.
Apple is hunting for new memory suppliers as a global shortage squeezes availability. Two Chinese chipmakers could help, but Washington is pushing Apple to find another solution.