Chip Teardown Firms Confirm iPad 2's A5 Chip Manufactured by Samsung

This time the second iPad’s A5 processor has became an object of teardown, revealing that the chip is indeed being manufactured by Samsung.  Some recent rumors claimed that Apple is shifting production from Samsung to TSMC. Apple is said to be interested in switching from Samsung because the company competes with both the iPhone and the iPad with its own devices - the Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab tablet, respectively.

Based on analysis performed by UBM TechInsights Lab and Process Analysis personnel, we can say that the A5 in our possession is definitely manufactured by Samsung using their 45nm process. So at least this sample of the A5 is fabbed by Samsung, just as all Apple's processor chips have been for the last while.