Late in 2014, it looked as though Samsung was going to be the primary supplier for Apple’s next generation A9 chips, as it has already demonstrated a 14nm FinFET process that would match the market leader. Industry technology leader Intel was also in the mix, as its 14nm process is expected to be online by mid-2015, and there was significant speculation that the company would finally find its way into the mobile market. Unfortunately for both companies, a report in Taipei Times indicates that the winner of the competition will be TSMC.

Despite not having a process as advanced as Samsung or Intel -TSMC’s smallest FinFET feature size is 16nm – the article notes that the mass production yield for TSMC is better than Samsung’s, thereby allowing for better cost effectiveness at large scales. In addition, Apple has long been wary of putting its chip production into the hands of its largest rival in smartphones, perhaps making TSMC the better strategic choice. In addition, industry analysts have noted that it is possible that TSMC will beat its guidance and have the process ready in 2Q 2015, a quarter earlier than expected.

TSMC is the primary supplier for Apple’s current generation A8 chips, which use a well-established 20nm process, and this was the first year that Apple did not use Samsung as a primary supplier of such chips. Nevertheless, despite likely winning the battle for Apple’s smartphone and tablet chips in the short term, the company may have much more competition for Apple’s Watch processor.