“They are not created equal,” said tech journalist Andy Patrizio, writing on his blog on IT World.com.
Users have found the TSMC chip had eight hours of battery life, while Samsung had six hours. In addition, some lab results have shown the TSMC chip is faster and runs cooler than the Samsung processor.
Some users said on the Internet that they were insisting on “TSMC only,” while another user remarked, “If I get the Samsung version, I might as well buy a Samsung phone.” However, there are others that don't find the difference too significant, since they would “say goodbye” to the model in a year anyway.
Some Hong Kong media said the two chips appear to be unequally distributed around the world — Almost 60 per cent of iPhone 6s models sold in the United States and Japan were made with the TSMC chips, while over 60 per cent of chips in Hong Kong were provided by Samsung. As for Taiwan, over 80 per cent of iPhone 6s’s allegedly run on Samsung chips.
It is not evident by looking at the packaging whether it Samsung or TSMC supplied the processor for an individual iPhone, nor do serial codes or barcodes offer any clues. Developers have created apps that can detect which chip your phone operates on, such as the “CPU Identifier” offered online, free of charge.
Apple issued a statement on October 9, “Our testing and customer data show the actual battery life of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, even taking into account variable component differences, vary within just 2-3 per cent of each other.” Apple rebutted previous lab tests, indicating such tests were conducted under battery-straining conditions that would be deemed “unrealistic” for real-world use.
Amid user complaints and online debate, both Samsung and TSMC have declined to comment on the subject.
Hong Kong media has speculated that Apple would cut down on chip orders from Samsung in the future, and industry analysts predict that TSMC would likely gain an upper hand in a coming deal with Apple, allowing it to become the exclusive supplier for Apple’s A10 processors.