A screenshot from Puget Systems benchmark database reveals a new upcoming desktop processor model by AMD, the Ryzen 5 7500F. The screenshot details the 7500F as a 6-core processor, and the machine features an ASUS ROG Strix X670E-F Gaming motherboard, along with an RTX 4080 graphics card. At this point it's hard to tell what the "F" brand extension means in AMD nomenclature. On Intel, it denotes a lack of integrated graphics.

There are two possible theories on what the 7500F could be. One holds that it's a down-rated "Raphael" MCM with a disabled iGPU; while the other holds that it could be based on the 4 nm Phoenix-2 monolithic silicon. Detailed in an older article, the Phoenix-2 is a 137 mm² monolithic silicon that physically features no more than 6 "Zen 4" CPU cores, and an iGPU with just 4 RDNA 3 compute units, besides I/O that's identical to that of the regular 178 mm² 8-core/12-CU Phoenix silicon. Phoenix-2 on AM5 might just end up with a lower bill of materials than a single-CCD "Raphael" MCM.

Update 06:13 UTC: A Korean retailer has posted the first picture of the Ryzen 5 7500F in the flesh. They claim a street price of around $170-180 (KRW equivalent), and availability slated for July 7.

AMD has designed a physically smaller version of its 4 nm "Phoenix" mobile processor silicon. The chip could power lower-end mobile SKUs in the Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 series, and it's likely that it could make it to Socket AM5, where it will power Ryzen 3 and lower-end versions of Ryzen 5 desktop processors. Built on the same 4 nm foundry process as the standard "Phoenix" silicon, the so-called "Phoenix 2" or "PHX2" die physically features a 6-core/12-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, and a physically smaller iGPU with just two WGPs (workgroup processors), or 4 CU (compute units), which work out to 256 stream processors. This iGPU is based on the same RDNA3 graphics architecture as the one powering the regular "Phoenix" silicon. At this point we don't know if the Ryzen AI component gets the axe, but given AMD's enthusiasm with consumer AI acceleration, the die might just retain it.

The PHX2 die likely retains the I/O of the regular "Phoenix," including a dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5 and LPDDR5 memory interface, and a 24-lane PCI-Express Gen 4 root complex. These changes result in a die that appears to be around three-quarters the size of the regular "Phoenix," with an area of around 137 mm², compared to 178 mm² of the regular "Phoenix." The smaller die will save AMD big on costs and yields. At this time, there are at least two processor models reported to be based on this die, the Ryzen 5 7540U and Ryzen 3 7440U. Both are 15 W to 28 W class mobile processors aimed at thin-and-light notebooks.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has announced the new Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, which has been creatively engineered to make incredible mobile experiences accessible to more consumers globally. Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 provides effortless, all-day use with fast CPU speeds, sharp photography and videography, plus speedy 5G and Wi-Fi for reliable connections.

"Snapdragon - at its core - is driving innovation while meeting the demands of OEMs and the broader industry," said Matthew Lopatka, director of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "With this generational advancement in the Snapdragon 4-series, consumers will have greater access to the most popular and relevant mobile features and capabilities. We optimized every aspect of the platform in order to maximize the experiences for users."

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced its latest foundry technology innovations and business strategy at the 7th annual Samsung Foundry Forum (SFF) 2023. Under the theme "Innovation Beyond Boundaries," this year's forum delved into Samsung Foundry's mission to address customer needs in the artificial intelligence (AI) era through advanced semiconductor technology.

Over 700 guests, from customers and partners of Samsung Foundry, attended this year's event, of which 38 companies hosted their own booths to share the latest technology trends in the foundry industry.

AMD today launched its Ryzen 7040HS line of mobile processors targeting consumer notebooks of conventional thickness and portability, which AMD considers thin-and-light. This class of devices is positioned between ultraportable notebooks, and gaming notebooks or portable workstations. AMD already powers several segments of gaming notebooks and portable workstations with its Ryzen 7045HX series "Dragon Range" mobile processors, with CPU core counts ranging between 6 and 16; as well as the ultraportable segment with the Ryzen 7040U series; but while the 7045 series have their TDP rated in the 45 W to 65 W range, and the Ryzen 7040U in the 15 W to 28 W range, the company was lacking a current-generation processor lineup in the 35 W to 54 W segment, which the company is filling up with today's Ryzen 7040HS series launch.

The Ryzen 7040HS series processors are based on the 4 nm "Phoenix" monolithic silicon, just like the 7040U series, and is based on a combination of "Zen 4" microarchitecture for its CPU, RDNA3 graphics architecture for its iGPU, and the new XDNA architecture for its Ryzen AI on-chip accelerator. Physically, the "Phoenix" silicon features an 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU. Each core has 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache, and a 16 MB L3 cache is shared among the 8 cores. The iGPU features 12 RDNA3 compute units, which amount to 768 stream processors, along with 24 AI Accelerators (specific to the RDNA3 architecture); 24 Ray Accelerators, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The iGPU meets the full DirectX 12 Ultimate logo requirements. The Ryzen AI XDNA accelerator features 20 AI acceleration tiles, each with local memory.

TrendForce reports that the global top 10 foundries witnessed a significant 18.6% QoQ decline in revenue during the first quarter of 2023. This decline—amounting to approximately US$27.3 billion—can be attributed to sustained weak end-market demand and the compounded effects of the off-peak season. The rankings also underwent notable changes, with GlobalFoundries surpassing UMC to secure the third position, and Tower Semiconductor surpassing PSMC and VIS to claim the seventh spot.

Declining capacity utilization rate and shipment volume contribute to widened revenue decline
The revenue decline in Q1 was primarily influenced by declining capacity utilization rates and shipment volume across the top 10 foundries. For instance, TSMC generated US$16.74 billion in revenue—marking a 16.2% QoQ drop in revenue. Weakened demand for mainstream applications such as laptops and smartphones led to a significant decline in the utilization rates and revenue of the 7/6 nm and 5/4 nm processes, falling over 20% and 17%, respectively. While the second quarter may see temporary relief coming from rush orders, the persistently low capacity utilization rate indicates that revenue is likely to continue declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to Q1.

AMD in one of its Meet the Experts presentations to the retail channel vendors, confirmed that the next-generation "Zen 5" architecture will see its desktop part branded under the Ryzen 8000 series. The company has known to skip a thousand-number sequence each generation for its mainstream-desktop series, the way it skipped Ryzen 4000 series nomenclature between the "Zen 2" based Ryzen 3000 "Vermeer" and "Zen 3" based Ryzen 5000 Vermeer; and more recently, between "Vermeer" and the "Zen 4" based Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," which makes this an interesting development. AMD's next-generation mainstream-desktop processor is expected to be codenamed "Granite Ridge," it will feature up to 16 "Zen 5" CPU cores across up to two CCDs. The processor I/O (and its 6 nm cIOD) is expected to be largely carried over, except that it could be upgraded with support for higher DDR5 memory speeds.

Another major disclosure is the very first mention of "Navi 3.5" This implies an incremental to the "Navi 3.0" generation (Radeon RX 7000 series, RDNA3 graphics architecture), which could even be a series-wide die-shrink to a new foundry node such as TSMC 4 nm, or even 3 nm; which scoops up headroom to dial up clock speeds. AMD probably finds its current GPU product stack in a bit of a mess. While the "Navi 31" is able to compete with NVIDIA's high-end SKUs such as the RTX 4080, and the the company expected to release slightly faster RX 7950 series to have a shot at the RTX 4090; the company's performance-segment, and mid-range GPUs may have wildly missed their performance targets to prove competitive against NVIDIA's AD104-based RTX 4070 series, and AD106-based RTX 4060 series; with its recently announced RX 7600 being based on older 6 nm foundry tech, and performing a segment lower than the RTX 4060 Ti.

Samsung has invested heavily in semiconductor manufacturing technology to provide clients with a viable alternative to TSMC and its portfolio of nodes spanning anything from mobile to high-performance computing (HPC) applications. Today, we have information that Samsung will present its SF4X node to the public in this year's VLSI Symposium. Previously known as a 4HPC node, it is designed as a 4 nm-class node with a specialized use case for HPC processors, in contrast to the standard SF4 (4LPP) node that uses 4 nm transistors designed for low-power standards applicable to mobile/laptop space. According to the VLSI Symposium schedule, Samsung is set to present more info about the paper titled "Highly Reliable/Manufacturable 4nm FinFET Platform Technology (SF4X) for HPC Application with Dual-CPP/HP-HD Standard Cells."

As the brief introduction notes, "In this paper, the most upgraded 4nm (SF4X) ensuring HPC application was successfully demonstrated. Key features are (1) Significant performance +10% boosting with Power -23% reduction via advanced SD stress engineering, Transistor level DTCO (T-DTCO) and [middle-of-line] MOL scheme, (2) New HPC options: Ultra-Low-Vt device (ULVT), high speed SRAM and high Vdd operation guarantee with a newly developed MOL scheme. SF4X enhancement has been proved by a product to bring CPU Vmin reduction -60mV / IDDQ -10% variation reduction together with improved SRAM process margin. Moreover, to secure high Vdd operation, Contact-Gate breakdown voltage is improved by >1V without Performance degradation. This SF4X technology provides a tremendous performance benefits for various applications in a wide operation range." While we have no information on the reference for these claims, we suspect it is likely the regular SF4 node. More performance figures and an in-depth look will be available on Thursday, June 15, at Technology Session 16 at the symposium.

AMD's next-generation Ryzen 8000 "Granite Ridge" desktop processor based on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture, will continue to top out at 16-core/32-thread as the maximum CPU core-count possible, says a report by PC Games Hardware. The processor will retain the chiplet design of the current Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" processor, with two 8-core "Zen 5" CCDs, and one I/O die. It's very likely that AMD will reuse the same 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) as "Raphael," just the way it used the same 12 nm cIOD between Ryzen 3000 "Matisse" and Ryzen 5000 "Vermeer;" but with updates that could enable higher DDR5 memory speeds. Each of the up to two "Eldora" Zen 5 CCDs has 8 CPU cores, with 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CCDs are very likely to be built on the TSMC 3 nm EUV silicon fabrication process.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the PCGH leak would have to be the TDP numbers being mentioned, which continue to show higher-performance SKUs with 170 W TDP, and lower tiers with 65 W TDP. With its CPU core-counts not seeing increases, AMD would bank on not just the generational IPC increase of its "Zen 5" cores, but also max out performance within the power envelope of the new node, by dialing up clock speeds. AMD could ride out 2023 with its Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors on the desktop platform, with "Granite Ridge" slated to enter production only by Q1-2024. The company could update its product stack in the meantime, perhaps even bring the 4 nm "Phoenix" monolithic APU silicon to the Socket AM5 desktop platform. Ryzen 8000 is expected to retain full compatibility with existing Socket AM5, and AMD 600-series chipset motherboards.

AMD today released its Ryzen 7040U series "Zen 4" mobile processors for the Ultraportable segment. These are processors with a 15 W TDP that's configurable up to 30 W by notebook designers to enable better boost frequency residency. AMD technically announced its entire Ryzen 7040 series at the 2023 International CES, but put out details for only the 7040HS series with a 28 W to 45 W TDP targeting thin-and-light and mainstream notebook form-factors. This would be the first time we're seeing details of the 7040U series. The company announced that processors in the 7040U series are shipping to notebook manufacturers, but it did not put out a specific date on which you can buy notebooks powered by these processors.

The Ryzen 7040U series consists of four processor models (SKUs). The lineup is led by the Ryzen 7 7840U, followed by the Ryzen 5 7640U, the Ryzen 5 7540U, and has the Ryzen 3 7440U at the entry level. All four processor models offer the latest "Zen 4" CPU cores and RDNA3 graphics. The Ryzen 7 7840U packs an 8-core/16-thread CPU clocked at 3.30 GHz with up to 5.10 GHz boost frequency. The Ryzen 5 7640U has a 6-core/12-thread CPU clocked at 3.50 GHz with up to 4.90 GHz boost. The Ryzen 5 7540U differs from the 7640U not just in slightly lower CPU clock speeds—3.20 GHz with up to 4.90 GHz boost—but also the lack of the XDNA Ryzen AI feature. The Ryzen 3 7440U has a leaner CPU still, with just 4-core/8-thread, clocked at 3.00 GHz with up to 4.70 GHz boost, half the shared L3 cache size of the other three models, and a lack of Ryzen AI.

Intel Graphics employees inadvertently revealed that the company's Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture is being designed for the 4 nm silicon fabrication node, which would give Intel's GPU designers a leap in transistor density and power headroom, given that TSMC 4 nm is an EUV node compared to the current 6 nm DUV node the company builds its Arc "Alchemist" GPUs on. The leak also seems to confirm that its succeeding "Celestial" graphics architecture is being designed for 3 nm. An enthusiast named gamma0burst sifted through public profiles of several Intel employees, and scored these details in their professional profile pages.

We are almost certain that Xe2 "Battlemage" is going to be built on the TSMC 4 nm node, and to a slightly lesser degree, about Xe3 "Celestial" being designed for TSMC's 3 nm N3X node. Intel roadmaps pin the debut of "Battlemage" to a 2023-2024 timeline, although this could also be a reference to the iGPU of the upcoming Core "Meteor Lake" processors that debut in the second half of 2023. Intel is highly likely to deliver "Meteor Lake" within its 2H-2023 timeline, which would mean that the mention of "2024" in the graphics technology roadmap could mean that discrete GPUs based on "Battlemage" only arrive next year.

AMD has reportedly signed up with Samsung Electronics to shift some of its 4 nm processor silicon fabrication from TSMC. The apex Taiwan-based foundry is reportedly operating at capacity for its 4 nm-class nodes, with customers such as Apple and Qualcomm sourcing 4 nm mobile SoCs on the node, leaving AMD with limited allocation and/or bargaining power with TSMC. The company relies on 4 nm for its Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix" mobile processors, and is in the process of adapting its design for Samsung's 4 nm-class nodes (of which there are five types for AMD to choose from).

Switching to Samsung probably gives AMD more scalability, particularly given that "Phoenix" has missed its release timeline, leaving AMD with the 5 nm + 6 nm Ryzen 7045 series "Dragon Range" MCM in the premium segments, and older 6 nm 7035 series "Rembrandt-R" in the mainstream and ultraportable segments, but nothing "apt" to compete against Intel "Raptor Lake-U" and "Raptor Lake-P." AMD has a limited window in which to ramp up "Phoenix," as Intel readies "Meteor Lake" for a 2H-2023 debut, with a focus on mobile variants.

DigiTimes has been informed that many of TSMC's customers are likely to postpone usage of the foundry's 3 nm process node into 2024 or beyond, due to a slowdown in the PC hardware market - insider sources suggest that AMD will be sticking with 4 nm and 6 nm nodes for many of its future CPU lineups. The next generation Zen 5-based family is expected to launch in 2024 - which aligns with information issued by AMD via financial reports - a roadmap (based on DigiTime's findings) points to AMD offering a range of mainstream desktop (Granite Ridge) and laptop/mobile CPUs (Fire Range).

No high-end desktop (HEDT) options are marked for release in 2024, and DigiTimes reckons that AMD is planning to release Zen 5-based Ryzen Threadripper processors in the following year. The codename for the Ryzen Threadripper 8000-series seems to be "Shimada Peak" and industry experts think that these HEDT CPUs will eventually succeed the Threadripper "Storm Peak" 7000 family (due for launch later in 2023) - a shared socket design is also a likelihood due to AMD wanting to stretch out the lifespan of mounting connection standards by avoiding costly decisions - their sTRX4/SP3r3 socket only survived for one generation.

ASUS's sensational handheld game console, the ROG Ally, will be priced at $699.99 for the model powered by the top AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, according to a leak by SnoopyTech. This top model will feature a 7-inch Full HD screen with 120 Hz refresh-rate, and Dolby Atmos-capable audio. Under the hood, the Ryzen Z1 is based on the 4 nm "Phoenix" silicon, featuring an 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU, and its full Navi3 iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, with 12 CU (768 stream processors). This chip is wired to 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and a 512 GB NVMe SSD.

ASUS has a cheaper model of the ROG Ally designed for cloud gaming and casual gaming, powered by the Ryzen Z1 (non-Extreme). The non-Extreme Z1 rocks a 6-core/12-thread "Zen 4" CPU, but a heavily cut down iGPU with just 4 CU (256 stream processors), which are plenty for the intended use-cases. ASUS could price this much lower than the top model, with speculations pointing to $499.

A technology tipster has been dropping multiple tidbits this week about Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile chipset - this follows a leak (from a different source, going back to mid-April) about the next generation Adreno 750 GPU getting tuned up for a battle against Apple's Bionic A17 in terms of graphics benchmarks. The latest leak points to the GPU being clocked at 900 MHz, rather than the rumored higher figure of 1.0 GHz speed (garnered from tests at Qualcomm's labs). The focus has now turned to the next generation flagship Snapdragon's CPU aspect, with information emerging about core clock speeds and multiple cluster configurations.

Revegnus suggests that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SD8G3) chipset will be packing a large primary core in the shape of Arm's Cortex-X4 CPU with a reported maximum clock speed of 3.40 GHz. Leaks from the past have posited that the SD8G3 would feature a fairly standard 1x Large + 5x Big + 2x Small CPU core layout (with clocks predicted to be: large Cortex X4 at 3.2 GHz, big Cortex-A720 at 3.0 GHz, and small Cortex-A520 at 2.0 GHz). An insider source has provided Revegnus with additional information about two different CPU core configurations - 1+5+2 and 2+4+2 - it is theorized that smartphone manufacturers will be offered the latter layout as an exclusive option for special edition flagship phones. The more powerful 2+4+2 variant is said to sacrifice a big core (A720) in favor of a dual Cortex X4 headliner, although the resultant thermal output of twin large cores could prove to be problematic.

Early details of MediaTek's next generation mobile chipset have emerged this week, courtesy of renowned leaker Digital Chat Station via their blog on Weibo. The successor to MediaTek's current flagship Dimensity 9200 mobile chipset will likely be called "Dimensity 9300" - a very imaginative bump up in numbering - with smartphone brand Vivo involved as a collaborator. The tipster thinks that the fabless semiconductor company has contracted with TSMC for fabrication of the Dimensity 9300 chipset - and the foundry's N4P process has been selected by MediaTek, which could provide a bump in generational performance when compared to the older 4 nm and 5 nm standards used for past Dimensity SoC ranges. It should be noted that the current generation Dimensity 9200 chipset is presently manufactured via TSMC's N4P process.

MediaTek is seeking to turnaround its fortunes in the area of flagship mobile chipsets - industry watchdogs have cited a limited uptake of the Taiwanese company's Dimensity 9200 SoC as a motivating factor in the creation of a very powerful successor. Digital Chat Station suggests that the upcoming 9300 model will pack enough of a hardware punch to rival Qualcomm's forthcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC - both chipsets are touted to release within the same time period of late 2023. According to previous speculation, Qualcomm has also contracted with TSMC's factory to pump out the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 via the N4P (4 nm) process.

TrendForce reports that the US Department of Commerce recently released details regarding its CHIPS and Science Act, which stipulates that beneficiaries of the act will be restricted in their investment activities—for more advanced and mature processes—in China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia for the next ten years. The scope of restrictions in this updated legislation will be far more extensive than the previous export ban, further reducing the willingness of multinational semiconductor companies to invest in China for the next decade.

CHIPS Act will mainly impact TSMC; and as the decoupling of the supply chain continues, VIS and PSMC capture orders rerouted from Chinese foundries
In recent years, the US has banned semiconductor exports and passed the CHIPS Act, all to ensure supply chains decoupling from China. Initially, bans on exports were primarily focused on non-planar transistor architecture (16/14 nm and more advanced processes). However, Japan and the Netherlands have also announced that they intend to join the sanctions, which means key DUV immersion systems, used for producing both sub-16 nm and 40/28 nm mature processes, are likely to be included within the scope of the ban as well. These developments, in conjunction with the CHIPS Act, mean that the expansion of both Chinese foundries and multinational foundries in China will be suppressed to varying degrees—regardless of whether they are advanced or mature processes.

An online tipster, posting on the Chinese blog site Weibo, has let slip that Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile chipset is touted to pack some hefty graphical capabilities. The suggested Adreno "750" smartphone and tablet GPU is touted to offer a 50% increase over the present generation Adreno 740 - as featured on the recently released and cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The current generation top-of-the-range Snapdragon is no slouch when it comes to graphics benchmarks, where it outperforms Apple's prime contender - the Bionic A16 SoC.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC is expected to launch in the last quarter of 2023, but details of the flagship devices that it will power are non-existent at the time of writing. The tipster suggests that Qualcomm has decided to remain on TSMC's 4 nm process for its next generation mobile chipset - perhaps an all too safe decision when you consider that Apple has upped the stakes with the approach of its Bionic A17 SoC. It has been reported that the Cupertino, California-based company has chosen to fabricate via TSMC's 3 nm process, although the Taiwanese foundry is said to be struggling with its N3 production line. The engineers at Qualcomm's San Diego headquarters are alleged to be experimenting with increased clock speeds running on the next gen Adreno GPU - as high as 1.0 GHz - in order to eke out as much performance as possible, in anticipation of besting the Bionic A17 in graphics benchmarks. The tipster theorizes that Qualcomm will still have a hard time matching Apple in terms of pure CPU throughput, so the consolation prize will lie with a superior GPU getting rigged onto the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Intel has awarded TSMC with some big contracts for future manufacturing of next generation GPUs, according to Taiwan's Commercial Times. As previously covered on TPU, the second generation Battlemage graphics processing units will get fabricated via a 4 nm process. According to insider sources at both partnering companies, Intel is eyeing a release date in the second half of 2024 for this Xe2-based architecture. The same sources pointed to the third generation Celestial graphics processing units being ready in time for a second half of 2026 launch window. Arc Celestial, which is based on the Xe3 architecture, is set for manufacture in the coming years courtesy of TSMC's N3X (3 nm) process node.

One of the sources claim that Intel is quietly confident about its future prospects in the GPU sector, despite mixed critical and commercial reactions to the first generation line-up of Arc Alchemist discrete graphics cards. The company is said to be anticipating great demand for more potent versions of its graphics products in the future, and internal restructuring efforts have not dulled the will of a core team of engineers. The restructuring process resulted in the original AXG graphics division being divided into two sub-groups - CCG and DCAI. The pioneer of the entire endeavor, Raja Koduri, departed Intel midway through last month, to pursue new opportunities with an AI-focused startup.

Intel's next-generation Arc "Battlemage" GPU is expected to numerically-double its shader counts, according to a report by RedGamingTech. The largest GPU from the Arc "Battlemage" series, the "BMG-G10," aims to power SKUs that compete in the performance segment. The chip is expected to be built on a TSMC 4 nm-class EUV node, similar to NVIDIA's GeForce "Ada" GPUs, and have a die-size similar to that of the "AD103" silicon powering the GeForce RTX 4080.

Among the juiciest bits from this report are that the top "Battlemage" chip will see its Xe Core count doubled to 64, up from 32 on the top "Alchemist" part. This would see its execution unit (EU) count doubled to 1,024, and unified shader counts at 8,192. Intel is expected to give the chip clock speeds in excess of 3.00 GHz. The Xe Cores themselves could see several updates, including IPC uplifts, and support for new math formats. The memory sub-system is expected to see an overhaul, with a large 48 MB on-die L2 cache. While the memory bus is unchanged at 256-bit wide, the memory speed could see a significant increase up from the 16-17.5 Gbps on the Arc A770. As for when customers can actually expect products, the RedGamingTech report puts launch of the Arc "Battlemage" series at no sooner than Q2-2024. The company is expected to launch refreshed "Alchemist+" GPUs in 2023.

AMD's 4 nm "Phoenix" silicon could serious turn the company's fortunes around in the ultra-thin notebook space. The 28-Watt Ryzen 7 7840U surfaced on Cinebench R23 screenshots, where it is shown beating the previous-generation 55 W flagship, the Ryzen 9 6900HX. If this is any indication of performance across the board, then the 15-28 W models of Ryzen 7040-series "Phoenix" could unleash an open-season against competing 15-28 W-category 13th Gen Core processors that have lower P-core counts, such as 2P+8E. The 7840U has all eight "Zen 4" CPU cores enabled, along with a fast RDNA3 graphics architecture based iGPU. In the screenshot, the 7840U is shown with a Cinebench R23 multi-threaded score of 14285 points, a score that is higher than that of the "Zen 3+" based 6900HX "Rembrandt," and a touch below the 45 W Core i7-12800H, which means it could have the upper hand over several 13th Gen and 12 Gen SKUs in the 15-28 W category.

In a Samsung Electronics business report released on March 12, it was revealed that the giant electronics manufacturer will begin mass production of new chips through a 4 nm 2.3-generation process. The newly established manufacturing process is set to start by the end of H1 2023, which means that mid-June would be the expected commencement date. Samsung Semiconductor has managed to produce a satisfactory yield of wafers with the new generation chipsets.

Samsung Electronics has experienced significant problems with the production of previous generation 4 nm chips, and industry insiders have been surprised by the sudden announcement of the third generation version, given rumors pointing to the Hwaseong factory struggling to reach yields at the 60% mark. Qualcomm famously dropped Samsung in favor of TSMC as a source of 4 nm chipsets in 2022, due to disappointing yield figures.

Based on multiple reports out of Taiwan, TSMC is seeing increased utilisation of its 3 nm node and its production line is now at close to 50 percent utilisation. The main customer here is without a doubt Apple and TSMC is churning out some 50-55,000 wafers a month on its 3 nm node. TSMC is also getting ready to start production on its N3E node later this year, which will see some customers move to the node.

However, it's not all good news, as TSMC is seeing a decline in utilisation on its 5/4 and 7/6 nm nodes as demand has dropped significantly here, with different news outlets reporting different figures. Some are suggesting the 7/6 nm nodes might have dropped as low as to 50 percent utilisation, others mention 70 percent. The 5/4 nm nodes aren't anywhere nearly as badly affected and remain at around 80 percent utilisation. The good news for TSMC is that this is expected to be a temporary slump in demand and most of its leading edge nodes should be back at somewhere around a 90 percent utilisation rate by the second half of the year. However, this depends on what the demand for its partners' products will look like going forward, as many of TSMC's customers are seeing lower demand for their products in turn.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 2022. The Company posted KRW 70.46 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 4.31 trillion in operating profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2022. For the full year, it reported 302.23 trillion in annual revenue, a record high and KRW 43.38 trillion in operating profit.

The business environment deteriorated significantly in the fourth quarter due to weak demand amid a global economic slowdown. Earnings at the Memory Business decreased sharply as prices fell and customers continued to adjust inventory. The System LSI Business also saw a decline in earnings as sales of key products were weighed down by inventory adjustments in the industry. The Foundry Business posted a new record for quarterly revenue while profit increased year-on-year on the back of advanced node capacity expansion as well as customer base and application area diversification.

Intel Foundry Services, the semiconductor foundry business of Intel, has onboarded an undisclosed fabless customer, the company disclosed in its Q4-2022 Financial Results presentation. This signals that the company wants to serve the semiconductor manufacturing industry beyond its own products, and scale up to demands, just like TSMC, UMC, Samsung Foundry, or other such semiconductor foundries do. The customer is looking to build chips on the Intel 3 foundry-node, which is rumored to offer performance/Watt and transistor-density figures comparable to TSMC 4N (4 nm EUV). Intel will extensively use Tower Semiconductor's silicon fabrication IP in the deal. Throughout its manufacturing lifecycle (from risk production to mass-production and completion), the deal is expected by Intel to generate over $4 billion in revenue for the company.Image Courtesy: VideoCardz