On April 1st, it was reported that the semiconductor foundry giant UMC has secured a major order from Qorvo, a supplier of RF power amplifiers (PA) for Apple, with an estimated production volume of over tens of thousands of wafers. This marks UMC’s success in winning the contract to manufacture crucial chips for Apple once again, following the supply of related chips to Apple through the collaboration with Unigroup in the past.
According to reports, Qorvo will supply antenna components for Apple’s next-generation iPhone, integrating new chips and pairing them with Qorvo’s power amplifiers for Apple. The new chips will be manufactured using UMC’s 3DIC technology.
While Qorvo’s power amplifier products are mainly produced by foundries like Win Semi for gallium arsenide, they have not previously cooperated with Taiwanese foundries in other chip aspects. Sources in the supply chain revealed that the chips Qorvo ordered from UMC this time are products from Anokiwave, a wireless communication chip manufacturer acquired by Qorvo at the beginning of this year. These chips will be integrated into the new antenna module design for the iPhone and are currently ramping up production, further advancing UMC’s operations.
Against the backdrop of smartphones gradually integrating edge-side generative AI functions, sources in the supply chain revealed that Apple is changing the design of the next-generation iPhone antenna module to enhance performance by incorporating new designs from Anokiwave, which was acquired by Qorvo earlier this year. This integration aims to enhance the iPhone’s signal reception capabilities.
Qorvo places great importance on the benefits brought by Anokiwave, emphasizing its high-frequency beamforming and intermediate frequency (IF) to radio frequency conversion chips, which synergize with Qorvo’s RF front-end product portfolio, offering customers more highly integrated complete solutions. By leveraging Anokiwave’s products, Qorvo is teaming up with UMC for production, enabling UMC to secure another crucial chip order for the iPhone. Previously, UMC also manufactured driving chips for Unigroup, supplying Apple. Now, by securing this large order in the communication RF field, UMC will further strengthen its position in Apple’s supply chain.
Editor: Semiconductor Intelligence – Wanderer Jian