Samsung to move to second-gen 10 nanometre microprocessors before the end of the year

Samsung moves to second-gen 10 nanometre manufacturing, while Intel struggles

Samsung is aiming to shift to second-generation 10 nanometre process manufacturing by the end of the year - beating rival chip maker Intel, which has already delayed production of 10nm chips.

The company claims that it will begin production of products on the new 10-nm process later this year, which will offer 10 per cent better performance than the first-generation offering.

The news was broken by Samsung Semiconductor director Kelvin Low, who said that the company will also launch a new, lower cost 14nm process later this year alongside the 10nm technology. The company is aiming to attract fabless semiconductor designers, especially companies working in mobile.

"We think we are leading again. This is not a one-time success story," Low told Re/code. Samsung's focus on improved manufacturing processes suggests that the company hopes to see its second-gen 10nm process find its way into future Apple iOS devices.

It is rumoured that Samsung has been ousted by Apple, which has chosen rival TSMC to provide the bulk of its next-generation A10 processors that are likely to end up in the forthcoming iPhone 7.

Apple seems to have given Samsung the cold shoulder - no doubt partly motivated by the competition between the two companies in mobile - but Qualcomm selected Samsung to produce this year's Snapdragon 820 in a shift away from TSMC.

Intel was recently forced to quash rumours that its 10nm microprocessors could be pushed back even further than the second half of 2017 after already delaying them from this year.

The chipmaker had planned to introduce the first family of 10nm processors some time in late 2016, but technical challenges encountered in shrinking transistors to ever smaller scales led to the launch being delayed until the second half of 2017.

Intel announced plans earlier this week to axe 12,000 employees as the company's chip business continues to struggle amid weak PC sales.

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