Qualcomm (Allegedly) Ships 176 Million 5G Modems To Apple

Apple's Chip Orders Continue To Benefit TSMC As Demand Expands To Older ... While Qualcomm does not explicitly state the Snapdragon X55's ... Analysis ⋮ Finance ⋮ Rumor Qualcomm(Allegedly)Ships176Million5GModemsToApple–BecomesTSMC’sLargest7nmCustomer ByRamishZafar Dec8,202007:24EST ShareTweetSubmit Qualcomm'sSnapdragon7nm5Gmodem(right)andtheQTM525mmWaveantennaspicturedabovearesomeofthecompany'sproductsCredit:QualcommIncorporated) SanDiegochipgiantQualcommIncorporatedhasquietlybecomeTaiwanesefabTSMC'slargestcustomerofthelatter's7nmsemiconductormanufacturingprocessnodesuggestreportssourcedbySinaFinance.Qualcomm,whichsellssmartphoneapplicationprocessorsandmodems,amongstotherproducts,wonabigcontractforthemodemsofApple's(NASDAQ:AAPL)latestflagshipsmartphoneafterthepairsettledtheirlicensingdisputeslastyear.Thesemodemswillbemanufacturedonthe7nmprocessnode,whichisoneofTSMC'slatestmanufacturingtechnologies. ThereportssuggestthatowingtothemassiveinfluxofordersfromtheCupertinotechgiant,QualcommshouldbecomeTSMC'slargestcustomerforthe7nmprocess.Thedetailsrevealthatthecompanyissettoprovide80,000waferstoApplefortheiPhoneonlyduringthefourthquarter. Apple'sChipOrdersContinueToBenefitTSMCAsDemandExpandsToOlderManufacturingProcesses Lookingattheestimatesprovidedinthereport,it'spossibletospeculateonApple'sdemandprojectionsfortheiPhonesduringthisquarter,whichwillinevitablyseethecompanyfactorindemandfortheyear'shighly-anticipatedholidayseason.Despitecomingatatimewhenpopulationsallovertheglobecontinuetobattlethedevastatingafter-effectsofapandemic,the2020iPhonesmightnotdisappointAppleintermsofsalesfigures,withareportfromanalystMing-ChiKuosuggestingthattheCupertinotechgianthadmanagedtoselluptotwomillionunitsofthelineupduringthefirst24hoursafterpre-ordersopened.Qualcomm(Allegedly)Ships176Million5GModemsToApple Most,ifnotallofTSMC'sleading-edgeprocessesuse12-inchwaferswhicharethencutintoindividualchipslateron.Suchawaferhasanareaofroughly72965mm²andifweareabletodeterminethesurfaceareaoftheSnapdragonX55,thenit'spossibletowageraguessathowmany2020iPhonesApplemighthaveorderedforthisquarter,orasyou'llseebelow,foralongertimeperiod. WhileQualcommdoesnotexplicitlystatetheSnapdragonX55'ssurfaceareaandteardownsofsmartphoneswiththemodemdonotmentioniteither,theareaforHuawei'sBalong5000sub-65GmodemhasbeenrevealedbyateardownconductedbyTechInsights.TheiranalysisoftheMate20X5GrevealsthattheBalong5000hasadiesizeof9.82mmx8.74mmwhichtranslatesintoasurfaceareaof85.83mm². Slide16fromQualcomm'sAnalystDaypresentation2019givenbyitsvicepresidentengineeringandchieftechnologyofficerDr.JamesThompson,revealedthatthattheSnapdragonX55is2.6timessmallerthanHuawei'sBalong50005Gmodem.Image:QualcommIncorporated AnalysisRevealsInterestingConundrumAboutApple'sAlleged5GModemDeliveries Atits2019AnalystDay,Qualcomm'schieftechnologyofficerandvicepresidentengineeringDr.JamesThompsonhighlightedthestrengthsofthecompany'sSnapdragonX55overcompetingproductsfromIntelCorporationandHuawei.Dr.Thompson'spresentationrevealedthattheSnapdragonX55is2.6xsmallerthantheBalong5000,andcombiningthisestimatewithTechInsight'sdiscoveryrevealsthattheSnapdragonX55mighthaveasurfaceareaof33mm². Sincea12-inchwaferhasasurfaceareaof72965mm²,andtheX55'sderivedsurfaceareaturnsouttobe33mm²,it'shighlylikelythatasinglewaferthatTSMCshippedtoQualcommfortheiPhonehas2211SnapdragonX55modemsinit.Combiningthiswiththealleged80,000wafershipmentsrevealsthatApplemighthavereceivedasmuchas176millionsuchmodemsfromQualcomm. Thisfigurefallsnearlyinlinewithestimatesinapre-pandemicreportbyBloomberg(thepublicationthatisyettoeitherrecantorindisputablyprovehowthesecurityofAppleandothertechcompanies'datacenterswerecompromisedviamicrochipimplants)thatclaimedhowApplehadhopeditwouldship200millioniPhonesin2020asitembraced5Ginternetconnectivityfortheiconicsmartphonelineup. Inamorerecentreport,TaiwanesepublicationAppledailyhadreportedthatthecompanyexpectedtoship120million5GiPhonesin2020-afigurethatiseitherwrongorbelievedthattheshipmentswereforApple'sfiscalyear2020whichwillendinSeptembernextyear.JPMorgan'sestimatesatthetimepegged5Gandnon-5GiPhoneshipmentsat198million,andbothoftheseshowperhapsthereportfromSinaFinanceisoverestimatingtheshipmentsthatQualcommhasmadetoApple. AnotherexplanationisthatperhapsAppleisexpectingsolidperformancefromthisyear'siPhonesnextyearaswell,aseconomiesstarttorecoverafterhavingtakenanunprecedentedbeatingthisyear.However,givenhowthecompanyprefersaleanerinventorymodel,courtesyofC.E.O.TimCook'ssupplychainwizardry,evenifsuchadecisionhasbeenmade,itwouldn'thavebeenmadelightly.Finally,forAppletoship176million5GiPhoneswouldmeansolidperformancefromabrandnewlineup,andperhapsthecompanymighthavehedgeditsordersonthepossibilityofusingtheSnapdragonX55infuture,yet-to-be-launcheddevicesaswell. Theauthorhasnopositioninanyofthestocksmentioned.WCCFTECHINChasadisclosureandethicspolicy. 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